Don't go
by Missile.x
Summary: Maya's leaving for Kurain in a matter of days and on top of this Phoenix is called in to defend a man in a trial somewhat similar to one where he and Maya met. With all this going on, will they admit their feelings before it's too late?
1. The beginning

_**Quite absurdly I've been writing this since the summer. It's actually taken me ages and has ended up around 22 chapters long, but obviously, I'll post this gradually, in less this gets no reviews, of course. **_

_** It's basically another angst-ridden Maya's-leaving-and-they-fall-in-love-and-stuff-happens-and-there's-a-trial-at-the-same-time type thing. Only, y'know, I haven't exactly sold it by pointing how this story's been done 5 zillion times...**_

_** So please give it a try and feedback. I mean, I think everyone can predict how it'll end, but come along for the ride anyway? I swear, it gets way less angsty around chapter three or four. :')**_

**Don't go**

** Prologue**

_ How did we get here again? I_ wonder, my eyes meeting hers at a distance, long ebony hair falling down her back and grey eyes swimming with tears. To me, she's never looked more beautiful.

Those eyes were the second thing I saw that fateful day we met. It seems like everything has changed. Her eyes haven't though. Though they were sad, it took nothing away from them. They were still breath-taking, but now I feel a different kind of heaviness in my heart. The day we met, the first thing I'd seen was Mia's body. This time, it was a suitcase.

There are people everywhere. Busy with their lives; saying hello, saying good bye. Today, I didn't plan on saying either of those things. I know exactly why I'm here and I stride over to her, not breaking eye-contact at all. Hoping I look more confident than I feel, I grab her hand without looking down and press my body against her.

"Maya?"

"Nick-"

" . . . Don't go." I whisper.

_Please don't go._

**One**

I suppose it started about a week ago when I found her staring at a photograph. Before this I'd seen the subtle glances towards it when she didn't think I was looking, but I had and I knew why she stared like that, so I finally spoke up.

"I know you miss it, Maya. It's fine, you don't have to pretend or something, I understand."

She had an odd look on her face, a sort of half-smile; as though she wasn't really sure what to feel. Not speaking for moment and staring solidly down at the photo I walked in and sat on the end of her bed. The duvet was colourful and decorated with a huge picture of the Steel Samurai grasping a spear, and as much as I hated to admit it, looking impressive.

"It's hard to explain, Nick. I don't exactly . . . miss it as much as I feel like . . . I ought to be there, for Pearly." she added, a slight tear in her voice.

It had been weeks since the incident at Kurain. Slowly, but surely things were getting more normal; at least, they were for me. It wasn't hard to see Maya was struggling still, despite the brave face she often would put on.

In all honesty, I wasn't sure what to do. For now, it seemed I just had to wait for time to repair what I couldn't and watch her come to terms with everything. The problem was that while I knew she needed time, I wasn't sure what else she needed. How was I supposed to know what was best for her? Was my law office a good place for her to recover?

"Maya, do you want to stay here?" I wasn't sure what made me say it. Days had passed since the thought had first occurred to me, but I hadn't wanted to ask the question and hadn't thought to question why this was either.

She was still turned away from me, but I could see she was quivering slightly. Instantly, I knew she was crying.

"Maya, shh, don't cry-" quickly I got up and rushed over to her, pushing my arms around her and stroking her shoulders in what I hoped, was a soothing fashion. This had been one of the reasons I hadn't wanted to ask. Maya crying was almost painful for me to watch. To see her so emotionally broken and in pain and the real clincher was there was nothing I could do but comfort her.

Looking down I could see huge tears leaking from her eyes that were scrunched up in anguish. "Shh," I stoked her hair and breathed in. Her smell somehow had to ability to calm me and I took her by the shoulders and held her at arms length. "I'm sorry if I upset you, but I need to know if this is what you want, because if it's not, you just have to say-"

She sniffed and avoided my gaze, "I don't know, Nick. I don't know what I want now. I just feel so . . ." she trailed off and I supposed she just couldn't find the right word.

"Sad?" I asked, "that's fine and really understandable." I was uncomfortably aware of how much like a counsellor I sounded. Taking my thumb to her face I wiped a tear and kissed her on the nose. "Whatever it is you want to do is-"

But suddenly she turned away, pulling herself free from my grip, her brow furrowed, with tears still running down her cheek.

"You don't get it, Nick. It's not about what I want." she paused, and looked at me again, "...It's about what's for the best. I have to think about Kurain and- and Pearls and how can I be here for her when she's an hours train ride away? A-and the elders keep trying to get into contact with me. A-apparently it's time I st-stepped up and became Master-"

"Yes, but if you don't want to be Master-" I said, almost predicting her response before she said it.

"Like I said, It doesn't matter what I want-"

The thing I hated the most was how much it sounded like she meant it. As if she truly believed that what she wanted wasn't a factor in what would happen.

"It does though," I replied, before I could stop myself. "It really does, Maya. There's always compromise, right? You don't necessarily have to leave and live up in the mountains-"

That was when I had to accept what I was doing. I was trying to convince her to do what I wanted, because for me, the idea of her leaving filled me with dread. How was I any better than the elders if I was indicting she should shirk her responsibilities and stay here as my aide?

I wasn't and there was no away around this.

"If I become the Master, I c-can't live here, Nick. It's impossible . . . and I'll never be able to visit or-"

"But is it what _you_ want? Do you want to become Master, Maya?" I'd made a choice. If she wanted to become Master I'd whole-heartedly support her, just as long as it was what she wanted.

Sniffing again and wiping her eyes she straightened up, "With the elders and Pearls and the fact that Kurain now doesn't even have an absentee Master . . . I don't think I have a choice."


	2. A selfless decision

_**Thanks to Gracieee, James Birdsong and Shizuka Ayasato :') Three reviews definitely warrants an update :') **_

**Two**

The next day at breakfast, I can tell she has something she wants to say. Besides the fact she's far quieter than usual, it's also the fact she barely touches her food. That's always a dead give-away that something was wrong.

We sit there in silence, her staring at her bowl and me taking slow, dull-tasting bites from my cereal. Being out of sugar, they didn't taste of a great deal and the sense of fear at what Maya might tell me took away my appetite too.

"Nick . . . " she finally pipes up.

I carry on eating, not wanting to make eye-contact, but nod to indicate I'm listening.

"Last night after you left," I'd comforted her for a good hour before going back into my own room. I even considered asking her if she wanted me to stay and sleep on the floor at one point, but thought better of it, thinking she probably wanted some privacy.

"I-I rang the elders . . . we had a good chat and they- _we_, I mean - decided that it might be best if I go back . . . and become the Master. They wanted me back by Friday..." she pauses, probably waiting for a reaction. I'm not in a hurry to give her one. At least, not an honest one. "But I told them it was too short-notice . . . they gave me until Friday. Then I have to go back."

I feel an instant dropping sensation in the pit of my stomach. I can't believe it; she's actually leaving, for real.

_How am I supposed to react to that kind of information? I_ ask myself, trying to swallow, but the lump in my throat makes it difficult. If I let her know I hate the idea of her leaving, she might change her plans for me, but if I act like I don't care at all, I'll just hurt her feelings.

". . . Wow," I say, trying to stall for time, "I err, wow. So you're actually leaving, to go and become Master?"

She looks down at her cereal again and starts prodding at it with her spoon. "Well, yeah, I guess that's why they want me back."

I attempt a smile and hope it looks more convincing that it feels, "That's – W-well," I start to stutter and panic. I draw a blank and desperately search my mind for something truthful to say, "I-I'm going to miss you . . ." I reply finally and very much truthfully.

She looks a little tearful now and I take her hand. "So we'll make the most of the next few days, right?" I nearly add, "To make the most of the time we have together", but I decide it makes it sound too much like one of us is dying, so I leave it.

Maya flashes me a watery smile, she squeezes my hand and nods, "Definitely, I-I'm gonna miss you too . . . so much."

"Hey, hey, no more tears. Cheer up," I say, though my own attempt to sound cheery isn't all that good. "There'll be plenty of time for that on Thursday, okay? I'm sure you'll be able to think of some pro's to this situation." My tone's joking, but in truth I just want to get out of there. Who am I kidding? Even Maya doesn't look completely sure I mean the words pouring out of my mouth.

The uncertainty leaves her face and she puts on a brave smile, "Haha, yeah, no more of your toilet cleaning antics . . . and your snoring that's so loud, I can hear it across the hall."

I force a smile too, "Oh yeah? Well no more Steel Samurai Marathon's or hair products."

"Come on, Nick, we both know you secretly love the Steel Samurai, just quit pretending." She replies, tossing her hair over her shoulder and getting up to throw her uneaten cereal into the bin. "Sorry, I know it's a waste, but I'm just not hungry."

I shake my head, even though her backs turned and she can't see it. "It's fine. I understand. To be honest, neither am I." Pausing to think of what to say next I try to ignore the feeling that's still lingering in my stomach. The worst thing is, I think this may be the most I've felt like crying since I was about twelve, "So err, what do you wanna do today?" I ask.

She turns around, leaning on the counter and looking thoughtful as she faces me, "Uh, I honestly don't mind. It's up to you . . . I'm gonna go get dressed and stuff, okay?" and with that she heads off to her room, leaving me alone.

I feel like crying and frankly, rather pathetic because of this. I don't want her to leave. I really, really, really don't want her to leave. In fact, as I might say in the court-room_, I object to_ her leaving. But I can't say anything, because it's not my place to. What would I say? _Maya, please don't leave. Don't full-fill your destiny and become the Master. Stay here with me and work on my cases. I'll barely pay you, but we'll have a good time, right? We always do . . . _

It sounded so sarcastic in my head; maybe because it's such an unreasonable thing to ask. The problem is I mean every word.

Letting my head fall down into my grasping hands, I groan in frustration, but not loud enough for her to hear. I _can't _say anything; I _won't say anything. _And so I make a pact with myself; I won't be selfish and ask her to stay, because this is probably what's best for her and all I want is for her to be happy.

Because it doesn't matter whether I am or not.

As long as Maya is...


	3. What I really want

_**Hey, well this is the only Maya POV chapter, in less I decide to chuck one in at the end or something, as I've not quite written the last chapter yet. Big thanks to Graciee, psykit, Naoku Suki and thecardboardunicorn for the reviews :') Without further ado, chapter three! Um, actually, double post I think, because the next chapter's where the crime storyline kicks off and I think I've drummed the message in that she's leaving, but doesn't really want to. **_

** Three**

_ Enough is enough. _I think, blinking back tears. Lately, I've been a complete sap and I really need to stop. It doesn't take much to set me off; any mention of what happened to my mother, Pearl and even Iris. The other day I started bawling over my sister's romance with Diego; I guess I'm just in a very emotional place at the moment.

Which is okay, I mean, Nick's been really understanding and helpful. _Almost too helpful._

He thinks I should go back to Kurain and become the Master. I know he only wants what's best for me, which certainly isn't staying here forever. But I want to. Truthfully, the last three years, leaving the horrible scaring events out, have been the best of my life, which isn't something I feel great about admitting.

I'm a spirit medium. I'm supposed to _want_ to channel spirits, _I'm supposed to enjoy it._ Often, I envy Pearls. She loves it and is fully committed to it and I realised long ago that she'd make a far better Master than I ever will. Because deep down, I'm not even sure I want to be it.

I've been in denial about it though. I have been for ages. Probably since the incident at the start of last year with the Doctor and my aunt Morgan's plot. I started having doubts, but I guess I repressed them until a week ago when it suddenly hit me;

_I don't __**want **__this. _

_ But it's not about what __**I want,**__ is it?_

Who knows how many times I said that to Nick last night, hoping he'd get the hint and ask me to stay. But he won't and he never will because I think he knows this is what's best.

Even though it's all wrong and as I wash my face in the basin I feel myself tearing up again. Frankly, it's a wonder I'm not hopelessly dehydrated. So I stop myself and finish rinsing the face wash away before applying moisturiser.

I glance at the bottle of mascara in the cupboard as I tuck the face wash away. Make up's never really been my thing. Mia wore is from about sixteen on-wards, though it wasn't easy since it's not exactly approved of back in Kurian. I hesitate, picking it up. It's all the make-up I own and I only really wear in on special occasions.

_Today's a special occasion, isn't it?_ I ask myself, unscrewing the lid and wiping the excess on a fresh piece of toilet roll. I want to look nice and so I carefully apply it and watch my reflection as it changes a little. Deciding I like it I head to get dressed, still trying to push the fact I'm leaving in a matter of _days._

Nick seems to be handling it all pretty well, better than I am. Though really, I have had a lot more to deal with.

Shoving on my robes and tying my hair back in it's usual style, I fake a cheery smile at the mirror.

I have have a feeling I'll be doing a lot more of those within the next few days.


	4. Turnabout Brothers

** _And now the next chapter..._**

** Four**

When Maya comes back I've already washed up and cleaned a lot of the kitchen and she wants to know if I've decided anywhere I'd like to go.

I haven't. To be honest, I spent the whole time dwelling on the fact she's leaving and there's also the fact I can't think of anywhere to go that we haven't been loads of times before.

My ideas basically consisted of cliché's; Theme parks, a picnic, the beach and swimming. We've done all that stuff before.

"I've got no idea Maya. If there anywhere in particular you want to go?" I ask, hoping she has more ideas than I have.

She pauses and seems to think for a while, "Er, where haven't we been lately?"

"I dunno, I mean, work's scarce until recently, so we've been everywhere."

"Good point . . . The Museum?" she asks, "We haven't been there before."

I shrug, "I'm not fussed, let's go for it."

So we do, I pack up a few essentials and a camera and a phone and we head down to the local museum. It's not far and in my eyes, it's not the most profound place to begin our last week together.

Once again, I'm making it sound like one of us is dying. I have a point though. After this, it'll be the odd visit, if that. How much time is she going to have with me when she's the Master?

It's free admission to the museum and we get in quickly as there's no queue and we're soon the the huge entrance hall. Pretty much everything is made of marble, except for the odd large exhibit which are distributed around evenly at the sides.

I'm quickly surprised by how excited she gets over the the dinosaur displays. Not just by the fossils, but by the models and the fact that some of them move just seems to fascinate her more. Watching her for a while, I decide it's cute. She's not child-like really, she's far too mature, but I like the way she gets excited over things like this. It's endearing.

I don't think about this for long though, because I hear a tinkling in my pocket and realise it's my phone playing that all too familiar Steel Samurai tune. She turns around too, clearly hearing it and I press the button and receive the call.

"Hello?" says a voice on the other end says, it's definitely male and sounds very formal and official, "Is this Mr. Phoenix Wright?"

"Ahh, um, yes, it is. Who's calling?"

"This is the police station; we have a prisoner who wishes to talk to you. Is that okay?"

Nodding, as well as answering yes the voice is soon replaced by another one.

"This is _the _Phoenix Wright, isn't it?" This voice is deep and clearly come from some one who's very upper-class.

"Yes it is." It's weird being referred to as "_The _Phoenix Wright". It's very flattering, of course, but still rather odd.

"I need you to defend me-"

Cutting across him I reply, "I'm not sure that's going to be possible . . . I'm very busy in the next few days." I side-ways glance at Maya who's trying her best to hear the conversation from next to me.

"B-but I need you to defend me, sir! I mean, I need a lawyer, I'll pay handsomely, I really will!" I'm not sure he really listened to what I said. That, or he just isn't willing to take no for an answer.

"Out of interest Mr. . . . ?"

"Mr. Savage . . . but don't let the name fool you-" he says quickly.

I roll my eyes, "What have they accused you of, Mr. Savage?"

"Murder!" Somehow, that isn't a surprise. I never seem to get cases for anything else. "But not just any murder, they think...it almost shames me too much to think of it."

"Yes, but what is it?"

"They're saying I killed my brother! My brother-"

"Your brother? I see . . . forgive me, but I have to ask you; _did_ you murder your brother?"

Unsurprisingly, he isn't slow to respond his voice indignantly high, "I didn't." he states, evenly. "I would never- He was like- well, he _was_ a brother to me. But, if you must ask these questions, come in person, down to the Detention centre!"

Sighing I replied, "I'm sorry Mr. . . . Savage, I'd love to help, but I'm really busy for at least the next four days- Maya, what?" I ask. She's been tugging on my arm for the last thirty seconds, trying to get my attention so I finally give it her.

"Nick, what does he want? This Savage guy?" she asks, her hand still on my arm.

"He wants me to defend him; the police think he murdered his Brother-"

"_What!_ I can't believe that you would-" she asks, incredulously.

"Don't worry Maya, I'm not going to take the case. These next few days need to be special-" I begin before she cuts across me, still looking incredulous.

"That's not what I mean. You never let me finish! I was going to say I can't believe you would turn down a man who's in the same situation as I was when you met me!"

Thinking about it, I suppose she's right. He is in a very similar situation, if a few factors are changed. Truthfully, I don't _want_ to take the case. I want to spend the next few days having fun with Maya, not in a stuffy, depressing court-room.

"Maya, it's not even the same; it was different for you. For a start I was second to discover the body and you're Mia's sister. I couldn't just desert you!"

She rolls her eyes and puts her hands on her hips, "But don't you see, Nick? This is fate! It's out last week and there's a case just like mine. I have a feeling this case could teach us both something really important! You _have _to take it! . . . I know you don't want to, Nick," she says after a pause, "But do it, for me."

There we are, right on cue; the puppy dog eyes. Of course I'll be taking the case now.

I take my hand off the speaker and sigh, "Fine. We'll be there as soon as we can be."

So much for a quiet few days with just Maya and I have to admit it; I feel really disappointed.

_**For the record, the line "My ideas basically consisted of cliché's; Theme parks, a picnic, the beach and swimming. We've done all that stuff before." isn't a dig at other fanfictions where they do this stuff. Let's face it, if it were I'd be a hypocrite as I've certainly used one or two of these plot-lines in my own stuff (just not in any of the ones I've posted on here). Basically, it just meant that I had to come up with something for them to do while they realised their feelings or whatever it is they do...**_


	5. Expectations

_** Thanks to Naoko Suki and Shizuka Ayasato :') and here's the next chapter... enjoy!**_

**Five**

It doesn't take us long to get down the station, but it seems to. Maya's chattering away about fate and how he must be innocent, but my heads somewhere else. I wanted to have fun and relax before the heavy-hearted goodbye began. I can't stand to see her leave.

And of course I know there's a second reason I don't want to take this case. It'll be my last case with her.

Before I know it we're in the infamous detection centre. God knows how many times I've been here now. The Camera, the statue like security guard and the pane of glass. It's amazing to think how many people I've spoken to in here, Maya included. And it's been more than once, as well.

Mr. Savage soon walks in. He looks different to how I had pictures him; he has a long scraggly red beard and long hair to match, covering his wrinkled, aged skin.

He's dressed very smartly in a black suit and if he'd been wearing a monocle, it certainly wouldn't have looked out of place. His clothes match his voice to a tee, but his hair looks rather out of place on such a smart looking man.

"Mr. Phoenix Wright, I assume? I can't thank you enough for coming down here!" he says, sombrely.

"And who is this?" He asks, looking at Maya.

"Ahh, this is Maya Fey, my assistant. She always helps me with my cases." I reply, _not for much longer though,_ I think sadly.

"Well, well, nice to meet you, Maya." he says. This man's so formal it's a little like being introduced to the mayor.

I nod, eager to hear what happened and why he's in here. I can tell Maya is too as she's nodding him along.

"So err, Mr. Savage, what happened exactly? Why do they think you killed your Brother?"

He looks a little a little troubled now, _so he should, _I think, remembering that time so long ago when Maya was sat there opposite me, looking equally troubled.

"It's not a pleasant story." He sighs and looks down. "I don't wish to put you off taking my case, but I ought to warn you, they found my finger-prints on the knife and they found me at the scene of the crime, just after his death."

I grimaced slightly and opened my mouth to speak, but Maya got there first, "Oh don't worry about that! Nick's gotten people out of far worse scrapes than that. The same thing happened to me about three years ago; a witness told everyone they _saw_ me commit the crime, I was found right next to the body before it was cold and my name was written in blood next to the body and he proved I was innoce-"

"Yeah, thanks for that, Maya. But I don't make any guarantee's, though. I find that if you're innocent, there's usually proof you are . . . and since I don't know you I can't completely believe that you're telling the truth, no offence." I added, tactfully. "So if you're not actually innocent, it's not necessarily definite that you'll be found to be."

Nodding sombrely, he replied, "Of course, there's no real way of knowing I'm telling the truth . . ." he paused, "but I am." he adds. I think he's making a joke and I have to admire his nerve. _He's lucky I have a sense of humour..._

"So," I began, "what exactly happened?"

"Well, I went round to his office last night and found Roger's body-" He began, looking rather tired of telling the story.

"Why were you going round to his office?" I asked, quickly, not wanting a single detail missed.

He paused and gave me a slightly quizzical look, "Does a man need a reason to go and visit his Brother?"

"No, but I'm asking anyway, did you have a reason on this particular occasion?"

Slanting his mouth the side slightly he replied, "No, I was merely going round for a chat. You see, he owns a business that's a high competitor of my own. Unfortunately, to the police, this is just another reason why I'd want to kill him..."

"I see, so you have a motive as well. What happened when you got there?"

Looking quite troubled again he furrows his brow, "Well er, I almost don't want to say. It sounds like a rather far-fetched excuse . . . you see, when I got out of the lift I found my knife on the floor."

"Your Knife?" _He has his own __**knife**__? I'm guessing this is another reason he looks guilty. _

He nods, "Yes, it's very special to me and it went missing at an earlier point in the day."

"Do you know who took it?" I asked without really thinking.

He raises his eyebrow and replies, "Well no, obviously not or I'd tell the police and have them arrest that person, instead."

"Then what?" I prompt.

He clears his throat, "Well, err, it's all a bit embarrassing to be honest. I can't tell you how many crime thrillers I've watched and yet somehow, I was foolish enough to stumble across my knife and pick it up . . . hence the fingerprints. And then I walked into his office to find it in odd disarray as though there had been some kind of fight take place and Roger was slumped over the table with a knife wound in his back."

I nod in response. This looked like an odd case and I was beginning to see why he'd requested help desperately.

"Okay, Mr. Savage, I only have one more question for you and I must ask you to answer it honestly." I don't know why I added to honesty bit. The chances were if he'd lied already he'd have no qualms with lying more and it was pretty obvious that as his lawyer, I needed to know the truth anyway. Still, I struggle to remember a time when my witnesses have ever bothered to tell me the truth, first time round.

Nodding, his beckoned on the question, "Go ahead."

"What was your relationship with your Brother like. Would you say it was good or bad? Were you close or distant?"

"It was good, I'd visit him often and we got along very well. He was like a best friend to me." The sadness in his eyes is so genuine and yet for a minute I think I see a hint of anger.

I shake this thought off, of course he's angry; someone's murdered his brother.

Instead of questioning I nod sombrely, hoping to convey my sorrow, but his tone of voice had been hard to read. I detect something behind the sadness in his voice. I wasn't sure what though; was it betrayal, regret perhaps, or was my imagination just making me see things that weren't there?

"So will you definitely take my case then?" he asks my, surveying me, wearily.

I'm not sure if it's the looks Maya gives me that seem to say, "_Go on, this is just like our first case_." Or if it's the fact that she's right. Maya was falsely accused of killing her only other sibling and was innocent.

_That doesn't necessarily mean he is too though, does it? _I remind myself, trying to ignore Maya's stare that seems to slowly be turning into a glare as I hesitate.

_Screw it_, I think, _If this is what Maya wants to spend our last few days together doing then I will. Anything it takes to cheer her up and this could be a very welcome detraction from all the things I need to think about but don't want to._

"Yeah, I'll take your case," I say finally, getting up out of my seat, heading, with Maya following, towards the door.

_Whatever Maya wants. _

"But do me a favour, Mr. Savage."

"Of course, anything."

"Keep the lying and deceiving to minimum. Just once I'd love to have a client who actually tells the truth about what happened."

Of course, he looks a little uncomfortable, but answers, "I'll try." anyway.

I know that he won't, but I figure there's never any harm in asking, is there?

As we leave the Detention centre Maya tugs on my arm and looks up at me, "Uh, Nick, you do know he lied at least twice just then, right?"

I roll my eyes, "I had an inkling, but nothing concrete."

_Oh God, here we go again._


	6. Investigations

_** Thank you to LadyAxel22, Naoko Suki, SixelaNinja and Skizuka Ayasato for their reviews :') Here's the next chapter...**_

**Six**

_Damn, this place is swanky_, I think stepping out of the lift and into the lobby on the top floor. Me and Maya head towards Roger's office to find it's very grand; incredibly intricate and ornate patterns grace the wallpaper and the rooms looks more like a library than an office.

"This place is beautiful." Maya says, her mouth hanging open slightly at the eagle statues either side of the large mahogany desk in the centre at the far end of the room. The windows at the side are upper class too, red velvet embroidered curtains hang across them and the other side of the wall is littered with full-up book cases, with mainly business themed books on it, but it's littered with classics too.

"It really is, but that white tape outline kinda ruins the view, don't you think?" I ask, walking towards it and noticing his desk, while polished and classy, is also rather messy. Not mess in the way in which my desk at the office was (accidentally messy due to me never cleaning it), but messy in the way it would be if someone had either been searching for something, or if someone had fallen on top of it. My mind raced with the different possibilities of what could have taken place.

There are only about five police men her, dusting for prints and carefully looking for anything that could be a clue. I consider removing my attorney's badge, not eager for anyone to realise I'm a lawyer.

"YOU!" I suddenly hear a shout from behind, a loud, deep but slow voice. "Phoenix Wright, ace lawyer!"

I turn on the spot slowly, looks like our covers blown, "Detective Gumshoe, fancy seeing you here."

He grins broadly and shakes my hand, "Well, I haven't seen you in a while, pal! Not since-" he looks down at Maya who's standing by my side, smiling back at him, "Well, since your last case. Hi Maya." he adds, obviously realising he hasn't greeted her yet.

She says hi back and I nod, "It's been a while, but I'm apparently on this case. I've somehow been shoe-horned into defending Richard Savage."

He looks a little sympathetic, "That's too bad, pal. Well, you won't be getting any information out of me. I'm a closed book as of now." he paused and looks around, "Though, to be honest, we don't know much anyway. We can only see one culprit and that's Mr. Savage's Brother.

"Yeah, apparently the evidence is kinda stacked up against him," Maya says before pausing, "Say, I don't suppose you know about all the evidence do you?" she asks.

_Wow, smooth Maya. He's not gonna fall for that one-_

"Actually, I do, Pal. Basically, the murder weapon's only got his prints on. So it must be him, right? And then there's also the fact we know he went here last night because it's on the CCTV and he rang the police. From what we gather, he came upstairs, murdered his brother and them called the police."

I consider what he's said for a moment, "Yeah, but why would he hand himself in like that and then plead not-guilty?"

Gumshoe shrugs, "We get this all the time. People murdering and then calling the police, full of guilt at what they've done, before changing their mind and deciding they don't want to go to death row, after all. It's not unusual. Another reason we think it was him is he has true strong motives . . . " he stops, clearly realising he's said too much.

"Well, I know there's one about the fact their business's were competitor's or something?" I say, hoping Gumshoe will absent-mindedly elaborate.

"Nice try, but everyone knows that one. We've uncovered an extra, super secret motive, but as I said, my lips are sealed."

_I thought you said you were a closed book? Ah well, looks like he's really not talking this time_. "Fair enough, well, we might take a look around anyway. See you in court tomorrow . . . say, I don't suppose you could let us see the autopsy report?"

He scratches his head and thinks about it for a second, "Go on then, it's over on that desk, but that's all you're getting from me today, all right, pal?"

"Fine, thanks anyway." I say.

"Yeah, thanks." Maya adds, mainly because she hasn't said anything in a while.

We walk over to it and an I pick it up, _let's just see what happened then,_ I think.

_Name_: Roger Savage

_Time of death: _11.03pm

_Cause of death: _Deep stab wound to the back which punctured the heart. Death would have been almost instantaneous due to the location of the wound.

_ Of course, it would have to have been instantaneous . . ._ I thought. We'd asked Richard more questions about that night and he'd told us that he'd arrived at around five past eleven that night, which I then realised must mean he arrived only minutes after Roger was killed.

Maya sighs, "This really isn't good. Look at the time of death, Nick. They're never going to believe he didn't do it."

Gumshoe had told us that Richard had been seen leaving on the CCTV, but he'd never mentioned anything about him arriving. I made a note to ask him about this later.

"You're right," I agreed passively with Maya, "Things sure seem to have mounted up about him. It doesn't help that they now have two motives . . . any ideas how on earth we're meant to find out what it is? Gumshoe doesn't seem to be budging on the matter, for once." I added.

She grimaces, "Nope, we usually kinda depend on his letting it slip while we talk to him, but I reckon it's so important that he's making a constant effort to remember it's a secret." She paused for thought, "Maybe if we have a look around there'll be some witness hanging about who we can badger? That usually works."

Maya certainly has a point. _In fact,_ I think,_ If we're lucky and Mr. Savage actually is innocent, maybe the real murderer will turn up?_

"We could ask that man over there?" Maya points to a important looking man standing near some police men.

"Nah," I reply, "I think he's with the police force and because he's in charge of those two police men thinks he's important.

Just then I see something in the corner of my eye. We're standing in the door-way and I see a woman walking away quickly towards the lift. With no time to consult Maya I dash after her, in a mad attempt to get information of any kind. "Hey you, wait, hang on, wait a second, err, excuse me Miss-"

The woman turns around and my jaw drops. She's beautiful and by that, I mean insanely beautiful. She's all dressed in black right down to her lacy detailed suit and silk evening gloves. But it's not her clothes that make her beautiful; her main feature is her hair. It's long and golden and goes way past her shoulders, almost reaching her slender waist, framing a delicate face, full of anguish. I look closely, struck mute momentarily and realise she's at least forty, if not older, but she's wearing fairly heavy black make-up which is slightly smudged by the tears in her eyes.

"Yes?" she says reluctantly, clearly waiting for me to say something.

"Ah, erm, well, I wanted to ask you something," I say, stalling for time as Maya comes over and like me, does a double take at the woman, "I was just wondering-" _If you know anything about the murder? _I think, before realising that's too straight to the point, "If you're okay, you look like you've been crying."

She looks down and pulls out a black silk hanker-chief, dabbing at her eyes lightly and sniffing, "No, it's nothing really, I'm fine."

"You don't look fine." Maya says kindly, putting her arm around the woman who breaks down into quiet sobs.

I suddenly feel decidedly awkward and while I've become rather good at dealing with Maya's random crying fits, this one throws me and I feel incredibly grateful that Maya's here to comfort her instead. Then a thought hits me;

"Excuse me, but are you Roger Savage's wife?" It's a bit of a stab in the dark, but it's still worth asking.

Shaking uncontrollably and looking up from Maya's shoulder she looks at me alarmingly quickly, "N-no, why would you think- I mean, no, not at all, I-I'm R-Richard Savage's wife."

"But you knew the victim?" I press her anyway.

"Y-yes, how could I not? I'm married to his Brother." She sobs slightly exaggeratedly and then looks up again, some of her mascara has now run down past her nose and yet it somehow doesn't seem to detract from her beauty. "God, this is so horrible. I c-can't believe they think that R-Richard would do that. H-he and Roger were so close, they were best friends. I can't believe this-"

And then she just trails off and goes back into her sobbing fit. I feel awful for her and I can tell Maya does too, and yet I'm also pretty glad we found her. If anyone will know about this, surely she will. She's the perfect character reference for both of them.

"I'm so sorry Mrs. Savage," Maya says, stroking her blonde hair. I'm still surprised by how well Maya's handling the situation, "Is that why you're in Black? Are you in mourning?"

She shakes her head, "No, I'm Julie Savage, but I'm know to the public as Julie Dylan . . . I design clothes . . . you might have heard of me?"

I shake my head and assume Maya will too, but she's nodding enthusiastically. "I know you! Yes, I used to see your magazines round at my sister's house. I actually own a few of your clothes-"

Of course, this is all news to me. I didn't even know she owned any clothes other than her spirit medium outfit. I've certainly never seen her wear anything else, other than her cheerful, pink pyjamas when we watch TV in the evenings.

Julie smiles at Maya, looking ever so slightly more cheerful, "I'm wearing black because it's ever so in season . . . though, I must say, your outfit's really interesting- I wonder if there's some way I can adapt it for a new range-"

I roll my eyes discretely. We've somehow gone from discussing her dead Brother-in-law to fashion in under a minute.

"So the outfit, the gloves and the make-up are just fashion related?" I butt in, eager to change the subject, "That's fine . . . I have a question; did you see your husband last night?"

Looking down at the floor she sniffs, "Kind of. I saw him at around seven . . . we had an argument and I didn't see him again after that."

"An argument?" I ask, quick to question, "What about?"

She grimaces slightly and looks down, "J-just something tiny . . . I can't even remember what it was now . . . " She's playing with a strand of her long golden hair, tying it into a knot and then letting it fall out naturally. I don't believe what she says for a second, but I know there's no use in pressing. Blatantly, she doesn't want to say.

"I see," I remark, "and have you seen Richard since he got taken into custody?"

Julie pauses and I notice Maya squint at her, clearly scrutinizing everything she says.

"Yes, of course I have, just this morning."

I nod, "What did he say to you?"

She shrugs, "That he's innocent."

"And do you believe him?"

"Yes." she looks at me like I'm mad. "What kind of wife do you think I am?" and then she looks sad. I actually feel pretty sorry for her.

"Were you close to Roger?"

Then she looks angry. I can only reason this women is extremely temperamental as she's gone from incredulous, to sad, to angry in a matter under half a minute. "What is this? Twenty questions?" and then she paused and looks at me with her startlingly blue eyes and I can tell she's trying to figure me out. "What is is exactly you're after, Mr?"

"Wright." I reply, "I'm a lawyer and this is my assistant, Maya."

The look Julie gives me is bordering on disgust, "Oh, you're one of those? Just how do you plan on twisting my words then, Mr. Wright?"

"I don't plan on doing that at all, Mrs. Savage. I'm just trying to get an idea of what happened. You shouldn't be too angry with me. I'm defending your husband."

Her eyes widen, "Well, that's . . . .good. That's . . . excellent, I suppose." and then she looks at Maya and back at me. "Good luck, I really hope you prove he's innocent." but she sound so disjointed and strange that it barely sounds sincere. Maybe it's just me being a lawyer and twisting things, though?

"Thanks." I say, "And thanks for answering my questions. You can go now if you want?"

Nodding and turning away she sweeps her hair round one shoulder and tries to smile. "It's fine, bye." and with that she heads gets into the elevator and leaves me and Maya alone.

I turn to her, ready to discuss what we've found out, but she still has a deeply scrutinizing look on her face and I can practically see the cogs in her brain turning. "What is it?" I ask her, quickly.

"Julie Savage is a downright liar, that's what."


	7. Try honesty

_** Thanks for the reviews; Shizuka Ayasato, Naoko Suki and Gracieee. Oh Gawd, this story is hella predictable. :') Ah well, enjoy even so... ^_^**_

**Seven **

I stare at her blankly after her proclamation. She looks a little bemused.

"What?" I ask.

"She lied to us about three times then. In fact, probably more than that-"

I don't know why I'm surprised. I've used a Magatama countless times and found out the people I'm questioning spin tales effortlessly. I now understand Maya's expression while I questioned her.

"What did she lie about then?"

Maya pauses for a moment, probably looking back over our conversation in her mind, "Well, she lied about why she's in Black. I mean, she might've been telling the truth a little because there was only one lock . . . and then she lied about the argument . . . and then about seeing him in custody. That was only one lock too, but the one about the argument had five so I have no idea what that was about. "

I'm astounded, "Wow," it's funny how now I'm not wearing a Magatama I swallowed up every single one of Julie lies. "Anything else?"

"It's weird. I've never seen anything like it before . . . there was this lock . . . a dark blue lock came up when I asked about Richard's innocence. I'll have to ask the elders or Pearl what that means though."

"Right. Oh . . . and there I was thinking she was a reliable character reference for Mr. Savage." I feel pretty disappointed. "Thank God you were here Maya. Seriously, I'd be sitting here feeling pleased with myself and considering calling her up as a witness; even though she didn't actually witness anything. In fact, she'd probably just make him look worse, by saying she didn't see him last night, she had, what was probably a huge argument with him, which would have possibly sent him off angry and she hasn't even been to see her husband since he got jailed for his Brother's murder. If that doesn't make him look guilty, I don't know what does."

Maya leans her head to the side sympathetically, "Okay, so whichever way we look at it so far, Mr. Savage is guilty because there's all this evidence that says he did it . . . So maybe, we need to stop looking for evidence that he _didn't _do it, and focus on finding evidence to say someone else did?"

I shrug doubtfully, "I dunno, Maya, whoever set this up's done a very good job. If he didn't do it and someone else did, I can't them leaving lots of clue's around."

"What've we got to lose exactly, Nick? By this time tomorrow they could have already declared him guilty. We need to go and see Mr. Savage and ask him if he knows of anyone who might try to kill Roger."

By now Maya has a determined look in her eye and I start to see her point. If we don't find another culprit by tomorrow, he's going down for sure.

"Okay, let's go then."

"Mr. Savage, can you think of a single person who might want your Brother dead?" I ask, looking him right in the eye. We're back at the detention centre now and the guards allowed us to see him almost straight away. He looks more tired and I assume they've questioned him some more.

He raises an eyebrow, "Other than myself, you mean? No."

While I did find his dry comment fairly amusing I made a point not to laugh, "So no one? Business competitors? Ex-girlfriends?"

Shaking his head he replies, "While some people maybe have had grudges against him, in less there's something I didn't know about, no one he knew would want to kill him. Everybody loved Richard."

"Right." I subtlety glance across at Maya. Before we'd returned we created a special key for whether he was lying. A nod meant he was telling the truth, while a gentle shake of the head meant he's lied.

She nodded. _Damn,_ _I was kind of counting on him having some kind of massive enemy or __something. _

I shake this thought off and moved onto my next question, "I saw on your file that you're married. Has your wife been to visit since you came in here?"

A few looks flashed across his face before he answered. At first he looked rather put off, before his face changed and he gave me a searching stare, before settling on a neutral expression.

"No." he says. I see Maya nod out of the corner of my eye.

"That's interesting you should say that. We saw her earlier at the scene of the crime and she said she had been to see you."

A bitter expression and also one of irritability falls across his face. "She's lying to you. She does that. She honestly hasn't. You can ask the guards."

"We don't need to. I know you're telling the truth, I said, giving Maya a surreptitious glance.

He nodded, reasonably. "What else did she say?"

I hesitated. Was it a good idea to tell him everything Julie had told us? There was no way of knowing, really, but I couldn't help but wonder if he might be able to shed some light over what she'd lied about.

"She told us you had an argument with her last night around seven and then she didn't see you afterwards." I said, "She told us it was a small argument, but I think she was lying."

He shrugged, "Does it matter if she was lying? An argument's an argument. Who cares what it was about?"

Maya gently shook her head three times. Dammit. That meant three psych-locks. "As a matter of fact, Mr. Savage, it is rather important. You stormed off and if you were angry, that could've effected your judgement.

Quite randomly, Maya suddenly pipes up, "If you don't mind me asking, Mr. Savage, if it's not important . . . you won't mind telling us what happened?"

She made a good point, I thought.

"It doesn't matter. It's not remotely important to this case-"

"Any small detail could make a difference." I rolled my eyes, "Mr. Savage, you can't seriously rope someone in while they're meant to be spending time with their friend who's leaving in a few days and make them defend you and simply refuse to tell them the while story." I said, exasperatedly.

Maya looks over quickly, clearly surprised by my expression of the fact I kinda resented this case for taking up my last days with her. Luckily, she didn't question as we were otherwise occupied with the case. I hoped she wouldn't read into what I'd said too much

"Who's leaving?" He asked. _Great, he's trying to change the subject._

"Maya," I replied, hastily, "What was the argument about?"

He looked rather perplexed, "How come?" He said, clearly choosing to ignore what I'd just asked.

She grimaced slightly. I could tell she wasn't enthusiastic about discussing it again. "Um-"

"Maya don't. It's not of his business and he's just trying to change the subject. Otherwise he wouldn't be asking-"

"That's not true, it's just a thought that you two were . . . you know."

I tried not to register my surprise at what he's said, but I have no idea how on earth he jumped to this conclusion. Me and Maya don't act like a couple do we?

"Well, we're not. What was the argument about, Mr. Savage?" I say crisply, making sure I avoid Maya's gaze.

"It's got nothing to do with-"

I'm actually getting pretty angry now and it's showing. "I'm your attorney, Mr. Savage. How the hell am I supposed to defend you if you won't give me the whole truth!"

"Can't you just accept that it's not-"

"How the hell do you know! If you know enough to know that it's got no baring on the case, you know enough to tell me who actually killed your brother-" I contort my face angrily, "I get so sick of this. Client after client "Ohh, defend me, Mr. Wright! Stop me from going to jail for a crime I didn't commit. Am I going to tell you the truth the first time round? Hell no, I'm going to lie and lie and LIE until you prove I'm lying!"" I impersonate in a sneering, ridiculous voice. "It's absurd!"

I've pretty much said my piece now and I'm not exactly sure what's come over me. Even at day one, when I defended Larry I've had clients hiding things from me. It's always been frustrating, but it's never sent me over the edge like this. _I must be at my wits end_, I reason.

Maya's just staring at me, an odd expression upon her small features. Is it pity? No, it seems more like sympathy or sorrow. I don't know why I'm so surprised when she squeezes my hand under the desk. I feel my heart grow warm. Trust Maya to be able to calm me down from such an uncharacteristically large rage as that.

I take a deep calming breath. "What I'm trying to say Mr. Savage," I begin in the most tranquil voice I can manage in the situation, "Is that I can't be your attorney if you won't tell me the whole story. I'm afraid," my voice sounds strained as I'm still making an effort not to sound too angry, "that with all the evidence against you, there's very little I can do with what I have at the moment."

He's staring at me, or is it a glare? A slight frown plays on his lips and his eyes are slightly narrowed. "I will not tell you, Mr. Wright. For vanity's sake, which may be a foolhardy reason at best-"

I stand up and Maya mimics me, reluctantly, "Then there's nothing I can-"

"_But_, if you go to my office and look through my computer . . . I think you'll understand our argument."

We both nod. I assume this is the best we're likely to get. "Thanks, Mr. Savage," Maya says, since I'm not about to thank him any time soon.

"The password for my email's "Coral65" . . . I know it's a bit weird. It's Julie and I's 35th wedding anniversary this year." He looks sad, but he's been so uncooperative I don't feel too sorry for him. Also, I'm not sure why this is a bad thing.

"_**I feel my heart grow warm. Trust Maya to be able to calm me down" I sure integrate the growing romance between those two subtlety, don't I? ;)**_


	8. My heart or his

_** Well, I only read through the chapters once before posting, so yes, there probably will be typo's; hopefully it'll still make sense. Other than that enjoy the chapter and a huge thanks to Gracieee, thecardboardunicorn, Shizuka Ayasato, Naoko Suki, TheSylverBlue and icer01 for thier lovely reviews. Slightly longer gap this time, but now I've finished my exams I can go back to doing all the things I was doing before, only now I won't feel guilty. Bleh, A levels sure do suck. Anywayyyy, complaints aside, enjoy! **_

**Eight**

It's strangely convenient that Richard's office block is only two streets away from Roger's and is almost identical. It's modern and tall and seems to carry on up for about five floors. I suddenly realise, miraculously as we enter, that in this case, I have no idea what either Brother's business actually does.

"Hey Maya," I start. We head towards the lift and press the button to bring it down to our floor. "Do you err, know what Mr. Savage's business does?"

She furrows her brow. "Erm . . . no, I thought you did. I mean, I dunno why you would. You've been with me the whole time and no one's ever actually told us. There was a huge sign outside that said something like . . . _Wavenchrome industries_." she pauses thoughtfully, "So erm, I guess that means they sell … waves?" she giggles at the stupidity of the suggestion.

I laugh, "Or chrome?" I joke back.

"Or wet chrome?"

"What a weird name." I say, making a note to ask Mr. Savage what they do when we go back to the detention centre.

She nods, still smiling a little. "Hmm, I wonder what the argument was about. He still seems pretty cut up."

I shrug, "Yeah, that doesn't give him an excuse to be so damn difficult." I hesitate. "I'm sorry I got so angry back there. It's just . . . it's so annoying."

Placing her hand in mine as we leave the elevator she flashes me a sympathetic smile. "I know. Hey, I've been here the whole time. I think we- well, I guess it'll just be _you_ now, need to accept the fact that everyone who wants defending lies." she laughs slightly, "and yes, it's ridiculous, but like sis always said, it your job as a lawyer to believe your clients innocent."

My stomach drops a little at being reminded that soon, it'll just be me investigating like this, alone. But I can't say anything and it's still killing me.

We're in Richard's office now, on the fifth floor and it's not hard to find his computer as it's sitting on his desk which funnily enough, looks a lot like Roger's deep mahogany desk. Heading towards the end of the room I can tell that Maya wants to say something but she's hesitating.

I brush that thought off, though, and make a start on the computer, pressing the button and switching it on.

"Nick . . . " she begins.

_Here we go . . . _

"Yeah," I reply, keeping my eyes fixed determinedly on the loading screen.

"That thing you said before. Do you um, resent taking this case 'cause, well, I'm leaving and we don't have long left-"

"-Maya, you're not dying." I reply, avoiding the question.

She's staring fixedly on the rich red carpet, not daring to look up. "I know . . . It's just what you said before, I thought-"

The screens loaded, far faster than my old computer at home. I have to say, I'm pretty grateful. I'm not exactly eager to discuss this, but realise I don't really have a choice. "Look, whatever way we look at this, we get to spend the next few days together, so of course I'm not resentful. I completely understand why it was so important that I took this case."

She looks slightly disappointed, or am I just imagining things? I can't see any reason why she would want me to be annoyed about taking the case.

"Aha!" I exclaim, changing the subject, "I found his email, now just to get onto his account."

Peering over the desk next to me we both watch as I type in Richard's password.

"He didn't really say what we're looking for, so does he just want us to look though all his emails or what?" she asks, looking grateful that I've changed topics.

"I can't believe none of the police thought to check his emails. What kind of investigation was this?" I ask.

"Gumshoe's investigation?" She jokes, thought there's a hint of truth to it.

I laugh but it turns into a grimace, as I stare at the screen.

"_Inbox (587)"_

"Oh you've got to be kidding me- look how many there are! It could take forever to look through all these."

Maya rolls her eyes, "Don't be stupid, look, it must be an email from yesterday else they wouldn't have had the argument."

"Oh yeah." my voice is slightly breathless with anticipation. Suddenly, part of me feels slightly glad Mr. Savage wouldn't tell us and sent us out to find out ourselves. It's oddly exciting.

"I think we wanna look for one from Julie first, and then Roger. Though, he did say the argument had nothing to do with this case. I scroll down for a moment, passing today's mail and looking for her name.

"There aren't any from her on here." I say slowly, "But look, here's one sent from Roger yesterday at 6.36pm. Though, it actually just says "Savage", so I suppose it only shows the second name on email contact lists? You have to hold the mouse over the name to see the first name of the sender I think."

I click it and before I read it I can see it's disappointingly short. It feels oddly anti-climactic. Until we read it, that is.

_ 20 years is long enough, Julie._

_ Will it be my heart, or will it be his?_

_ I love him, but I love you more._

_ Make a choice._

_ - Your Richard. _

Neither of us speak for a moment. In fact, I have to read it twice, it make sure I can't have misinterpreted what it means. We're both utterly stunned into silence it takes me at least two minutes before I can think of a single thing to say. Just as I go to say it, Maya pipes up.

"That's horrible." For a moment I wonder if she's crying. Her voice sounds a little thicker than usual. I wouldn't have blamed her if she was. "That- that's truly horrible . . . twenty years- how could she do that?"

I swallow. I can't imagine the kind of pain Richard must have suffered finding that out.

_How would you deal with something like that? _I ponder, _The news that the person you love most in the world has been unfaithful to you for twenty out of thirty-five years you've been married? _It broke my heart just reading it and it didn't even happen to me.

"That email must've destroyed his whole world." I say, slowly, "I'm not sure I'd blame Richard if he _did_ kill Roger."

"Nick!" Maya says, clearly surprised by what I said, "You don't seriously mean that-"

I shake me head, "No, but seriously, I'd still want to rip the guy, limb-from-limb. What kind of guy does that to their brother?"

"A terrible guy, and a terrible woman. If I'd known what a horrible bitch-"

"Maya!" I exclaim, shocked to hear her using even mild language like that.

But Maya just shrugs it off, "What? She is a bitch. I wouldn't have been so quick to comfort her if I'd know she'd been cheating with her husband's brother!"

"Thing is, I agree, but as much as I hate to say it; it's not our job to judge. We'll need to talk to Julie again before tomorrow if we can. She's definitely involved. I don't think calling her a cheating bitch if going to get us many answers, either."

Maya sighs, "Still, it makes me so sad to think of how he must have felt reading this."

He must have send it to the wrong "Savage" address . . . " I pause to think, "Thing is, don't you think it's a little bit weird?"

Narrowing her eyes, she shakes her head, "What do you mean, "weird"?

"Well, if you're trying to keep something secret, you're not careless with it are you? _Sending it to the wrong address? _According to this they've been having an affair for twenty years and Richard had no idea."

"Maybe he got careless? They were bound to slip up eventually."

"Careless? This looks downright deliberate. Hey . . . you don't think Roger wanted Richard to know about the affair? After hiding something for that long, I think you'd get pretty damn good at hiding things. Slipping up on something as tiny as an email address? That's ridiculous."

Grimacing slightly, she asks, "Do you really think so?"

"I'm afraid I do. Of course, I can't prove it or ask Roger if it's true- God, this must be why Richard didn't want us to know about the argument. What's that now?" I say holding up my hand and counting in my head. "Like, four motives to kill him?"

She nods, clearly counting along with me. "I think we need to talk to him again." Maya says, thoughtfully. She pauses and looks at the carpet, "You er . . . don't think he did it, do you?"

I take a deep breath in and don't say anything for a moment, putting together the fact and taking a final glance at the email as I go to print it.

"No. I don't think he did . . . do you?" I ask, tentatively, looking at her again and seeing a determined look blazing in her eyes.

"I believe in him, too. Someone else must have killed him."

_But who?_

Luckily, we didn't have to wait long to find out. The answer was waiting for us back at the Police station.

_**Cliffhanger? I think we all know who did it. ;)**_

_** Also, who knows why I randomly put a Dallas Green/ City and Colour lyric in the ultimatum email; it is an awesome line though "Will it be my heart, or will it be his?" How wonderfully put. Expect plenty more lyrics in this story. I mean, this whole story is based on a song, after all. **_


	9. A predictable truth

_** Thanks Naoko Suki, Gracieee and Shizuka Ayasato for the reviews, now onto the next chapter . . . **_

** Nine**

Richard looked incredibly grave when we saw him next. There he sat on the other side of the glass, looking down into his lap, his fuzzy red beard drooping down over his prisoners uniform.

"Hello." he says as we entered the same way we had twice that day, although the events of this morning seemed more like they had been days ago, rather than hours. I nodded, feeling a wave of guilt at the angry outburst I had had just earlier.

"Hi," Maya replies as we sat down in the uncomfortable plastic chairs of the detention centre.

I pause and look up at him. I really feel I owe him an apology. "Richard, I er, I feel my outburst from earlier was somewhat . . . unprofessional and unfair in the circumstances-"

He rolls his eyebrows. "Oh Lord, is this what it's going to be like from now on? People tip-towing around me, not wanting to say anything to upset the man too stupid to know his wife was having an affair with his brother for twenty years?" He looks irritated and I can't say I blame him.

"Did you really not know?" I ask, not looking forward to his response and quite reasonably so as he widens his eyes in outrage.

Suddenly he's shouting, "Yes, yes I bloody knew and I let her carry on-" he stops and takes a deep breath and Maya flinches slightly, clearly terrified the way he's reacted. "No," his voice is lowered now, "No, I didn't know . . . I feel like an utter fool for now knowing, mind. I bet it's been pretty bloody obvious."

"Your brother was good at sneaking around though, wasn't he? Keeping things a secret?" I ask, making sure to keep my expression even and give nothing away.

Richard responds with a twitch of a smirk and a slight shrug, "Clearly."

"I think Roger wanted you to find out."

I can't read his reaction to this as he doesn't seem to have one. He says nothing for a while and then frowns. "You're not wrong there."

We wait for him to elaborate, but he doesn't.

"How do you-"

"I know because Julie told me." he says simply.

"When did Julie come to see you?" I question, not liking where this is going.

He looks down at his lap again, "While you two were off reading my emails."

"What else did she say?" I ask him, even though I'm not sure I actually want to hear the answer.

Taking a deep breath in, he looks up again. "Are you sure you want to hear? Things don't look good for me-"

Maya cuts in now, "Mr. Savage, whatever happened, we're in for the long haul, so get on with it."

….

"If you insist . . ." and then he explains. I can picture it all far too clearly.

_"Richard, please, you don't understand-"_

_ "I think I understand a lot better that you think. You're a fool, you seek attention though you get it from every man who's unfortunate enough to be in your presence and yet it's never enough is it?"_

_ "No, no I only want your attention. I love you! Please, believe me. Roger was just like . . .a habit. One that was hard to break. I couldn't leave you for him, Rich. I never would because it's always been you-"_

_ …_

_ "I don't want to discuss this with you, Julie. The minute I'm out of here I'm filing for divorce-"_

_ "NO! You c-can't. I love you! Please, listen."_

_ "Why did you really come here? You can't seriously have thought I'd just forgive you, you __stupid little woman!" _

…

_"When I found out what Roger had done-"_

_ "What did he do?"_

_ "H-h-he sent that email deliberately. H-he wanted you to find out- I couldn't believe what he'd done. He knew he's ruin everything!_

_ "Roger didn't ruin everything by "accidentally" letting slip about your twenty year long affair. You ruined it by sleeping with him in the first place. Our marriage has been destroyed for the last twenty years; I just didn't know it-"_

_ "Please, Richard, don't say things like that-"_

_ "It's all been a lie. Now get on with whatever you had to tell me."_

_ "I went round to his office in the evening. Shit, I was so angry. I was barely myself a-and he was there a-a-and he acted like nothing had happened . . . so I shouted at him, for ages. I told him I'd never leave you, that I love you, but he didn't believe me. He kept saying that 20 years was too long to do that when I love you so much- I ran at him, to it him..."_

_ "-Jules-"_

_ "I-I was s-so angry a-and then he tried to- to contain me- said I should calm down and I couldn't and we were sort of fighting it out. I-I wanted to get free, to get away from him and I pushed him and pulled the knife out of my pocket, but he didn't see-"_

_ "Your knife?"_

_ "__**Your**__ knife, Rich. I took it- I know it's your favourite and I thought I might need something to remember you by-"_

_ "Oh dear Lord-"_

_ "And he came at me again, trying to hug me, to calm me down but I still had the knife and s-suddenly-"_

_ …_

_ "His f-face went red and I-I felt the blood on my hand and suddenly realised what I'd done. I'm so sorry Richard, I'm so so sorry-"_

_ …_

_ "Please, say something-"_

_ "... This is some kind of joke isn't it? I'm on television and this is a set-up. It must be that, because life doesn't get this bad, this quickly. My life was as good as perfect only yesterday."_

_ …_

_ …_

_ "I wiped it and threw the knife on the floor outside the elevator and ran for it, out the back way to avoid CCTV and I rang the police. I didn't know you were going to go round and find his body. I'm so sorry."_

_ "You're sorry you had a twenty year long affair with my brother and then ended it rather dramatically be murdering him? There's a sentence I never imagined I'd say."_

_ "I am- I'll do anything to make it up to you-"_

_ "Fine. I want you to tell the police you did it."_

_ …_

_ "Will you forgive me then?"_

_ "No. I'll never forgive you. Frankly, you're an idiot for expecting me too."_

_ "N-no, you have to. Promise me if I go to jail for this that on the day of my release you'll be standing there with open a-arms to welcome me back."_

_ "Never. I will never-"_

_ "-Then you're asking me to do something I can't do-"_

"So to summarise, she won't tell the police the truth, in less you promise to take her back when she gets out of prison?" I ask, wide eyed as Mr. Savage's tale comes to an end.

He nods gravely.

I raise an eyebrow, "Uh, I don't mean to state the obvious, Richard, but would it really have been that hard to lie to-"

"Yes." he says, cutting across me. "Two wrongs don't make a right. I won't stoop to her level."

"Please, don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly endorsing it, but we're talking about going to jail for a crime you didn't even commit." I say, slightly exasperated.

Then Maya speaks up, "I agree with you, Richard. If he lied he'd be just as bad as Julie."

"Maya! You're supposed to be on my side!" I exclaim.

But she just shakes her head, "I am, Nick, but there's got to be a way out of this which doesn't involve Richard lying to Julie or going to jail. If she did it there'll be clues. I mean, she told him how she killed him for God's sake!"

It's Mr. Savage's turn to shake his head, "She's clever, you know. She hid _that_ from me for twenty years. I'm sure she'd have no problem hiding the fact she killed _him."_

"People always slip up on some account and worst comes to worst, we can try talking her round?" Maya suggests, hopefully.

He pauses and looks down at the table, "I don't think that'll work. When I spoke to her earlier . . . she seemed almost manic, begging me to forgive her which I think you'll both agree is a pretty big ask all things considered."

"Manic people slip up. Frankly it sounds like she'd mentally unstable." I say, feeling slight guilt at knowing we can use this to our advantage.

"All things considered, Richard, you're dealing with this really . . . um, calmly." Maya says, "I mean, you've had two massively horrible surprises in the last day."

Shrugging he runs his hands through his hair and attempts a smile, "Things aren't feeling so great in here." he points to his head, "I'm not sure it's sunk in . . . and I'll have to but a brave face on if I get out, won't I?" He groans and puts his head into his hands, "Jesus, the media are going to have an actual field day. This is front page material. Actually scrap the future tense. I'll bet they actually are having a field day; have you two seen any newspapers?"

"No," we simultaneously lie, unconvincingly.

He narrows his eyes, clearly not impressed with our acting, "Go on, what are they saying?"

"Well," I start, "We haven't actually had a chance to read anything properly, but I saw the headline earlier as we headed out. It's not too bad right now, because to be honest, they don't know the half of it, do they?"

"Oh dear God, I can picture it if I get released, "Profits go up, but spirit goes down for local business man Richard Savage when he discovered a-"

"Put it out of your mind, all right?" I say, not wanting him to have to repeat the situation out-loud again. "We'll sort this out, okay? You're not going to jail."

Raising his eyebrows pessimistically he replied, "Don't make promises you can't keep, Mr. Wright."

"I'm not making a promise, I'm just asking you to trust me, just _us_, even." I say as Maya nudges me to remind me of her presence. As if I'd ever forget about it.

The thing is, I don't even have a trump card. No amazing piece of evidence that proves he's innocent and that it was actually his wife. The best chance we have in using Julie's mental instability to our advantage.

I do have some hope though and I have genuine confidence in myself and Maya. We've never failed before and while it's not arrogance, I strongly believe that we can win this.

_** Sorry if the italic bits seem lazy. What can I say, Phoenix has a good imagination and I'm not at all lazy. xD**_


	10. Anything you like

_** Thanks Naoko Suki, Shizuka Ayasato and Gracieee for your kind reviews and if it helps Shizuka, Maya talks more in this chapter. It's kind of tough to find the balance between investigation stuff and Phoenix/Maya stuff. When something**_** actually****_ happens between them, hopefully it won't seem_ that _random or sudden. Anywho, enjoy! :')_**

**Ten**

We're finally home and we both react the same way to the sight of the sofa, heading towards it and slumping down, exhausted. I exhale and sigh while turning to look at Maya, who looks equally as tired.

"Woah, what a day." and I mean it. I can hardly believe we've done so much in such a short period of time.

"I'm surprisingly tired-" she says, struggling to get her words out as she stifles a yawn. "Today's been a lot more difficult than I thought it'd be."

"Same." I say, not entirely truthfully. This case has actually provided a welcome distraction. We'd planned several days of "quality time" which I could foresee becoming gradually more depressing as time went by. Funny how I started off resenting this and now I'm oddly grateful for it.

She groans and says "I'm so thirsty, but I can't even be bothered to get up . . ."

I get up, slightly grudgingly, "Don't worry, I'll get it . . . and some food. I could eat a horse. How did we forget to eat all day? Kinda wish I hadn't left so much of my breakfast." I add, regretfully.

"You don't mind?" she asks me, in a voice which enables me to tell she's only asking so she doesn't feel to bad for letting me do all this work for her. "I mean, you did more work that I did."

Shaking my head and preparing some drinks I jump to her defence quickly. "How did I? You did just as much as I did. If he actually pays up we're splitting the wages down the middle as far as I'm concerned."

"You can't do that. I'm not a Lawyer and you'll have to do plenty more tomorrow in court."

"Yeah, If we get that far." I answer, "By the way, is reheated spaghetti okay?"

Smiling slightly, she nods, "Yes, at this stage of the game any food at all is fine with me! And wait, what do you mean by "If we get that far"?"

I shrug, "I genuinely think we might be able to talk her around. Also, she's not in a brilliant place at the moment. Her testimony shouldn't be too hard to break."

Suddenly Maya sits up with a rather incredulous look on her face, "Hang on, surely she's not actually testifying against him? How stupid are all these people, coming back to testify about crime's they committed themselves-"

"Relax, Maya," I say, "No, she's not a complete idiot. I'm gonna call her to the stand to-" I gesture with my hands to make speech marks, ""testify about seeing Richard and their argument"."

She still looks pretty doubtful though, "I dunno, Nick. That seems sort of unethical."

"Maya! She cheated on Richard with his brother for twenty years and then _murdered _him. If she doesn't deserve to go to jail-"

"I know, I know. I mean, she does deserve to go to jail . . . but is it really as black and white as that? Technically, she didn't even mean to kill Roger. I guess it's manslaughter, really."

It's my turn to look incredulous now.

"I'm not saying she did nothing wrong, but somehow . . . I feel bad for her. I'd never, ever do that to someone myself, but she didn't do it out of spite to deliberately hurt him and he really loved her." she pauses, "and as for the murdering part . . . I think it was a genuine accident. She's not a cold-blooded killer."

As much as I hate it, I agree, so I nod. "I know. You're right . . . but she shouldn't blackmail him like that. Surely the first step to making it up to him for all the lying and deceit would be telling the police that it wasn't him?"

Maya nods, "Well, yeah, it would be . . . I'm not saying we shouldn't try and get Richard a not-guilty verdict, but just don't go too hard on her."

I smile slightly, "This coming from the girl who called her a horrible bitch?" but as I see her get ready to defend herself I put out my hand to stop her, "I'm just kidding, I know-"

"-That I shouldn't have been so judgemental. What she did is terrible, but I don't think she's a bad person."

"Well don't worry. I wasn't planning on using any old-school Lawyer tricks to wheedle a tearful confession out of her."

Maya nods to give me her approval. "Er, not to be cheeky, but is dinner ready yet?"

"Yeah, don't worry. Here it is." I say, carrying the food and drink over and slumping back down next to her, after placing everything carefully on the coffee table.

She grins, "Awesome, I'm so hungry that- you know what? I can't even describe it." Maya instantly grabs the cutlery and tucks in and I'm not far behind her.

"Believe me, I think I have a pretty good idea." I say, between mouthfuls. "Wagga wabtch tbv?" I swallow, "Sorry, I meant to ask if you wanted to watch TV?"

"Ig dob't- I don't mind." she answers, "Maybe a film or something?"

"Cool," I reply getting up and heading towards the TV after satisfying my initial hunger with the first few bites of the warmed up spaghetti. "Anything in mind?"

She shrugs, "It's up to you. I'll watch anything.", but I can tell she has something in mind and just doesn't want to say. This leads me to believe it's going to be some kind of film I won't like.

"Go on . . ." I say, hoping to coax her into telling me what she really wants to watch. "I can tell you have some idea."

Smiling she she looks down at the DVD's on the wrack, "Um, I guess I kind of wanted to watch _Steel Samurai: Return of the Evil Magistrate_, but we watched that two weeks ago so-"

Rolling my eyes and grabbing the box I reply, "Maya, you're leaving pretty soon, so whatever you want to watch we'll watch it." I almost completely mean it, but a part of me is dreading sitting through this film again. But then, any time spent with Maya is quality time, so surely it's best just go along with it?

Smiling gratefully she squeals and hugs me tightly, catching me of guard a little, but I don't mind. She's a good at hugging; she never does that mimsy kind of hug that people who don't really want to hug you, give. Of course, this is a rather odd thing to be thinking about so I sit back down and concentrate of the film.

Somehow, through most of the film I keep up this level of concentration, but my mind keep slipping back to Maya. I can't even properly not enjoy the film (which I've probably seen about _twenty_ times now), because she's with me and I start to realise that watching it is a rather bitter-sweet experience-

On one hand, when Maya's gone, I won't have to watch this film for ages. I'll get a long, long break from it and possibly won't watch it for years , by which time I may have even forgotten parts of the plot. However, if she were staying I'd probably have to watch this again in a month's time when she excitedly realised a relatively decent amount of time had passed. And then again the next month. She never gets bored of this film.

Of course, I'd rather just re-watch it over and over, than not have Maya as my companion. I guess she comes hand in hand with this kind of thing. It's like her constant hunger for burgers or her love for the circus. I don't particularly love either of those things, but when she's with me I can tolerate them with relative ease.

I think about this for a while and I think about her for a while, but quickly realise I'm starting to read into these facts a little too much. Which is probably ridiculous considering that it's common knowledge that having a friend with you makes tasks you don't relish completing, a lot more fun. It can't be more than that, can it?

_Of course it can't be, _I tell myself reasonably, not even remotely wanting to delve into this particular area of thought. _Now go back to concentrating on the film. It's nearly over._

_ Thank God for that. _


	11. Questions never asked before

_** It's been ages since I've updated, been working on my book a lot and work/ had exam results (which I was incredibly happy with! :D) Anyway, thanks Naoko Suki, Gracieee and Shizuka Ayasato for your reviews and here's the next chapter! **_

**Eleven**

I wake up the next morning a I feel like a fool, but quickly decide that it's okay, because I'm only a fool in my own eyes. The embarrassment doesn't go any further than that and that's the best kind of embarrassment, isn't it? Being embarrassed for yourself.

Entertaining an idea for even a second that my feelings for Maya could be anything more than brotherly is completely and utterly absurd. Of course I'm happier when she's around, but it's not any different to the way that I'm happier when Edgeworth's around- except, well, that's not true because we're not that close. Okay, when Larry's around- though, I actually find him kind of annoying. Mia then? She was my boss, but also my friend . . . we weren't close though. Until recently, I knew next to nothing about her personal life.

That must be the reason why I entertained the idea; there is no one quite like her in my life. She's the person who I'm closest too. Full stop. Period.

It's hardly surprisingly I'd feel a little confused about losing her, is it?

I get up, shaking this thought away. I need to concentrate of the case. We're due in court this afternoon and Richard needs to my top priority.

Maya's already up, wearing her baggy pyjamas and quietly singing along to Wonderwall by Oasis. Looks like she's cooking too, but her back's turned.

_-never really had a doubt_

_ I don't believe that anybody feels_

_ The way I do about you now_

_And all the roads we have to walk are winding_

_ And all the lights that lead us here are blinding_

_ There are many things that I would_

_ Like to say to you_

_ But I don't know how-_

"Morning," I say, approaching the kitchen area and pushing my hair out of my eyes. It always annoys me at this time of the morning. Maya's lucky she has a hairstyle that doesn't fall over her eyes every day when she gets up.

Turning around she smiles and turns the volume on the radio down, "Oh hey, I was just gonna wake you. Big breakfast this morning; we don't want to be starving again like yesterday. I even made sandwiches in-case- Hey, what're you staring at? Is there something on my face?"

I stifle a laugh, "Maya, what happened to your eyes? You look like a panda!" There's a strange black substance surrounding them, which she promptly starts to rub away.

"Oh, oops," she says smiling slightly and using a spoon to check out her appearance, "I totally forgot about this. I put some mascara on yesterday and didn't think to remove it last night."

I pull a face, "Why bother with make-up? You don't usually wear it, do you?"

She shakes her head, "I don't no, but well, I guess I just wanted to look nice for our day together-" she pauses and looks uncomfortable, "Not in that way, not _for _you. Just in general, I wanted to look good."

"You always look good, Maya. You don't need to bother with that. You're beautiful without it-" _Youch, where did that come from? Might want to steer clear on those kind of compliments, what if she gets the wrong idea?_

But I seem to get away with it, because she just smiles, "Oh, thanks . . . I guess I won't wear it again then." and then she goes back to her cooking, probably not even giving it a second thought.

I do though. Mainly because I never even realised I thought she was beautiful. I won't lie. I've looked at pretty much every woman I've ever met and assessed whether or not I find them attractive, even Maya. Things were a bit hectic when I first met her though, so I never really gave it much thought. In fact, I think I settled on the decision that she was pretty, cute even.

Which is true, she still is, but she's grown up a lot now and been through so much since I met her. But does that have any particular impact on how attractive I find her? If I separate any kind of emotional attachment to her; imagine she's just a girl I'm passing in the street, then yes, I guess I do find her very attractive, except for the weird clothes, which I'm used to now anyway.

_But why would I want to do that? I'm attached to her, I like her for who she is. Her personality is amazing. She's so strong and loyal and over-all a brilliant- Ahhh, why the hell am I over-thinking this so much! _

"Nick, are you okay?" she ask, giving me a strange look, "Why are you staring at me?"

My eyes widen in surprise, _Oh Fuck, tell me I've not been eyeing her up this entire time? What am I supposed to say now? "Sorry for staring, I was trying to work out whether or not I've been harbouring a repressed, inappropriate crush on you." _But instead I just swallow and look away, "Sorry, I was somewhere else. You know what it's like when you're day-dreaming and you don't realise you've been staring at the same spot the whole time?" But now I'm worried I've over-explained and look suspicious.

But once again, I get away with my weird behaviour, "Oh, right. Yeah, I do that sometimes too." she laughs it off and goes back to dishing out eggs. "Okay, I've done a proper fry-up; eggs, bacon, sausages, beans; the whole lot. I hope you're hungry!"

"Starving," I look at the food, but truthfully, I just slightly lost my appetite. Whatever weird doubts I'm having, I decide they need to be forcefully repressed and/or ignored. "This is really good." I say, tucking into a sausage and trying my best to look cheery.

"Great," she's wolfing her own plate down and neither of us say anything for a minute or two.

She breaks the silence eventually, though, "Ready for later?" she asks.

I assume she means court, "I think so. As ready as I can be. I think it'll be a case of hoping for the best and praying that Mrs. Savage slips up. It's not going to be pretty though. I'm going to have to unearth the affair in front of everyone. It's going to be mortifying for them both."

Maya half-smiles, "Everyone's going to find out eventually . . . I mean look at the paper for today; _Family business' gone wrong: a Savage killing._" She roles her eyes, "Jeez, they were business opponents, not partners. The headline doesn't even make sense."

"Nice use of the surname though. Very droll." I say, draining my mug of coffee and scanning the article. "Half of this isn't even true, oh wait- that bit is, still, they've made the whole thing look a lot worse than it is . . . and that's saying something considering that as far as scandals go, this is pretty horrible."

"I guess it's to be expected. I hope Richard doesn't see this . . ." she replies, "Stupid paparazzi." She mutters, picking the newspaper back up and scanning over it again. "It might be just about clever if it was actually accurate but-"

"Maya," I cut across her, quite randomly, "do you think we're going to win today?"

She smiles at my and I feel a little calmer, "Of course, we will. You're defending him and he's innocent, for sure! We can't go wrong . . . not that I'm saying you should get complacent and not try-"

I grin back, "I know, I know. Thanks . . . I needed to hear that. You know what? If we win I'm taking you out some where nice for drinks, or even dinner? I mean, you're leaving soon and you need to be spoiled..."

"Aww, Nick, you don't have to do that . . ." she says, taking my hand and squeezing it.

I shrug, "I know, but I want to. I need to thank you for everything."

She stares up at me, giving me a quizzing look. There's something in her gaze, but I can't quite work out what it is. And then she looks away and it's gone, "Well, if you insist; you know I'd be happy with Burger's though." Then she winks and grabs our coats, handing mine to me, "Here, we'd better get going. Lots to do."

We take a quick detour back to the scene of the crime, before we head to the courtroom and as we head there I begin to realise another reason I really don't want to lose this trial. It's the idea of losing the last case that Maya helped me with. I have no problems losing a case if I'm defending someone who's guilty, but Richard most certainly isn't. Today, I'm going to prove that.

_**I proofread it...kinda. Not sure if the Oasis lyrics were random or what, but I thought they fitted. **_


	12. A tenuous start

_** Thank you Shizuka Ayasato, Gracieee and Naoko Suki for the kind reviews; also thanks James Birdsong, but no idea what you mean about the f word. Onto the next chapter; I'll try and start posting these more; I keep on forgetting! Enjoy! :) **_

** A tenuous start**

The first thing that registers in my mind (and probably Maya's if I know her, which I most certainly do), is Richard's change in appearance. He looks almost unrecognisable.

"_Your beard!" _Maya exclaims, wide-eyed. "You look so different!"

His face is slightly pink from the razor and his hairs been carefully scraped back in an attempt to look neat. He actually looks very smart.

"All gone," he says, "thought it might be for the best; public relations and all that. I need to look smart, not homeless." I can tell it was a hard decision to make, but I agree with him.

Simply nodding, I catch his eye and make an effort to look furiously determined, "We're going to do everything we can in there, today, Richard. When you're being questioned just keep calm . . . you know I have to uncover the affair, don't you?"

He nods back, "I'd rather you didn't-"

"It's the only-"

"But I understand you have to, Mr. Wright." he finishes, solemnly.

The Bailiff speaks up now, "They're ready for you now."

I swallow and take a deep, and hopefully calming breath, "Right, ready guys?"

They both nod and we head in as I try and ignore the churning in my stomach as we enter.

The chattering stops as the judge pounds the gavel and speak up in his deep, reasonable voice, "Order! I'd like to set the trial of Mr. Richard Savage for the murder of his brother, Mr. Roger Savage, in motion. I trust the defence and prosecution are both ready."

Payne looks ready, all right. Wearing his usual smug grin and demeanour that practically excretes self-satisfaction. I'm not sure why though.

"Look at him," Maya whispers to me, putting her face uncomfortably close to mine, "Why does he look so pleased with himself? He's lost so many times he ought to call himself "the rookie encourager"."

Both cringing at the awfulness of her joke and trying to to laugh, I raise my eye-brows, "Let's hope he doesn't have too many tricks up his sleeve."

"The defence is ready, your Honour." I say, trying to exude confidence that I'm not sure I actually have.

Payne smiles gleefully, "And the prosecution is also ready, your Honour."

"Very well, then let the trial begin; Mr. Payne, if you would begin with the charges?"

"The charge is, of course, the murder of his own brother, Roger."

The judge looked shocked, "His own brother? I see. What does he plead?"

It was my turn to speak up now, "Not guilty."

"-Which is ridiculous, when you consider the stacks of evidence against him." Payne, interjected. I felt a prickle of annoyance. His tactics were always very trying.

The judge coughed, "Evidence? Go on, Mr. Payne..."

"Well, your honour," he began, smirking, "First we must consider the fact that the defendant was found at the scene of the crime, just moments after the crime was committed. Paired with the fact that Mr. Roger Savage was the head of the business is direct competition with Mr. Richard Savage's, I think you'll agree these facts are rather incriminating."

"OBJECTION!" I shout, barely thinking about it, "The defence challenges the idea that "owning the competitor business" is motive to kill! Especially considering that Richard's business was not struggling at the time."

"It wouldn't have exactly hurt Richard Savage's business to have his brother "removed" though-"

"Objection!" I say, with less enthusiasm, "My. Payne, that's ridiculous. The idea he'd murder a close, family member purely for this reason is absurd. The defence requests this is removed from the list of motives."

"Objec-" Payne begins, but the judge cuts across him.

"Objection sustained."

I smile slightly. It's not much, but that's one less obstacle between us and Richard's freedom. I'm glad this came up before I report the affair; "close family member" won't cut the mustard at that point, I don't think.

"So, would the prosecution like to call it's first witness?" The judge asks, looking expectantly over at Payne, who already looks a little put-out.

But he quickly straightens himself up and smirks, "Very well, your Honour. I'd like to call Miss. Julie Savage-"

My mind whirls; he's done what I was planning on doing without having any idea that he might be playing right into my hands. Unfortunately, this isn't necessarily a good thing.

"What's he doing calling her- he obviously doesn't know, else he wouldn't be bring her within a mile of the stand-" Maya frantically whispers to me.

I shrug and try to look calm as Payne's flashing smug looks my way; as if he's shocked me. He has, but not in the way he thinks he has.

"Miss. Savage is the the defendants wife and stepped forward this morning, admitting that she did witness something." Julie's looking at me, clearly trying to measure my reaction, but I'm not giving her anything. I avoid her gaze stare at Payne instead, "I'd like to make a special request that everyone is gentle with her . . . we all know the defence especially is prone to being rather, ahem, heavy handed with the witness'"

I simply roll my eyes. He's trying to wind me up and I'm hardly surprised. Nodding, I still try and ponder what on earth would possess this woman to come into court today. I assume she has _some_ idea that Richard might tell Maya and I what happened. She practically told us where the evidence was; I quickly decide this makes no sense, but I'll have to go wait and see how this pans out.

"Of course, Payne," I say, with a slight smile, "I'll be on my best behaviour."

"Geez," Maya says, quietly, "He's just pretending to be nice to get the judge onside. What a creep."

Payne nods, "Good to hear it, Mr. Wright. She's obviously very fragile at the moment; the victim was her brother-in-law who she was very close to."

_You can say that again,_ I think, biting back a smirk and exchanging glances with Maya.

"Terrible business," The Judge mutters, looking sombre and regretful, "It's very brave of you to have come forward at all; especially against your husband."

Julie looks like she's about to cry, but her beauty still manages to shine through her pale, tired skin. Her hair looks a little greasy, it still falls softly down her back, with shorter stands wresting on her shoulders. It's clear she's barely slept and I can see fear in her eyes; it's hardly surprising. I actually feel very sorry for her. She looks worried; as though she'd unable to hide her anxiety. It suddenly occurs to me why she's there. Perhaps she'd worried the evidence alone isn't enough and wants to get in there before I have a chance to uncover the affair. Luckily for me she's shaken and I believe this will make it harder for her to seem convincing. Stressed people make mistakes; a tactic I've relied very heavily on many times.

"Well, your testimony please, Miss. Savage; on what it was you saw."

She swallows and coughs a little, before beginning.

"Um, well, I saw- I saw-" a tear rolls down her face and she sobs slightly.

The Judge looks concerned, "Miss. Savage, are you sure you're well enough to give testimony?"

Eyes wide she looks up at him as though she's just be shocked, "O-of course, I'm sorry; it's just really hard-"

"As long as you're sure, thought I must say it's most surprising to see a wife give evidence against her husband voluntarily. Please, do continue."

"I-I saw my husband enter Roger's office just before 11pm."

She stood there silent for a moment and the rest of the court followed suite.

Eventually, Payne spoke, "Is er, that _everything_ you have to say?" he asked, peering over the top of his spectacles.

Blinking rapidly she looked a little confused, "Well, I don't know if there's much more to say. I saw him enter the office then and that's about it."

"Oh," he looked thrown, "I see. Well, you're right." he added, regaining his confidence again, quickly, "What more is there to say? Miss. Savage saw her husband heading to the scene of the crime, just minutes before the murder took place."

"Very well." The Judge said, "There's not a lot to cross-examine, but the defence may try their best."

I placed my hand casually on the bench and cleared my throat, "First of all, I'd like to question Miss. Savage on just exactly what she was doing at the time when she spotted her husband entering Mr. Roger Savage's office?"

"Uh, well, that is- I was looking for him-"

I replied alarmingly quickly, cutting her off, "And why was that?"

"Ierr- he's my husband, does a wife need a reason to speak to her husband?"

"Hold it! Surely, you'd just ring him up?" I reasoned, my eye-brows raised.

"He wasn't answering his phone."

"And why was that?"

"Because it was switched off-"

"And why was that?" I repeated, putting extra emphasis on the _why_.

She looked stricken and irritated by my constant questioning. "How should I know!"

While this was annoying, it would've been too good to be true if she'd just confessed about the argument already.

Payne decides to chip in now, "Objection! Prosecution requests that the Defence stops badgering the witness, who is _fragile _might I add?"

I slam the desk, "I'm cross examining her, _not _badgering. Geez, I have to ask her questions and they were all totally relevant."

"Objection denied, but I will request that the defence is a little more gentle with his questioning." The Judge said, shooting me a stern look. I was just glad he'd sided with me for a change.

Deciding it was time to chance tact I turned back to Julie, "Miss. Savage, can I ask which entrance your husband entered through?"

With a baffled look on her face she looked at me like I'd just asked her whether or not cheese came from the moon, "Well, through the front doors, obviously, how else would he have-"

"Objection! There _are _other ways to get into Mr. Savage's office. I'm surprised you didn't know about them, seeing you were so close-" I held up a video tape. "This CCTV tape here, clearly shows scenes of Richard leaving with the Police, but there's not footage of him entering-"

"W-well, he probably removed it, not wanting to incriminate himself further-"

I raise my eyebrows, "That's an interesting train of logic, Miss. Savage, considering the fact that if Richard Savage had not wished to _incriminate himself further_, surely it would have been prudent to merely not call the police after he supposedly murdered his brother? Also, when would he have had time to do this since he was arrested after the police came? Or are we assuming that Mr. Savage entered the office, went straight to the security room, took the tape, destroyed it and then headed up to murder his brother?"

"I- well – that is-" she seems to be lost for words.

"The defence does raise an interesting point, but I have to ask, what are the actual circumstance of the crime. Doesn't that clumsy, large detective in the big green coat usually go onto the witness stand first and tell me what happened?" The Judge asked, looking confused.

After an awkward pause, Payne spoke up, "He's ill, your honour and I thought that it would be in the case report you're supposed to read before the trial."

"Doesn't he usually get it kind of . . . wrong anyway?" Maya asks, keeping her voice down.

Looking a little shifty and sounding incredibly unconvincing he replies, "Well yes, of course I have read that, briefly . . . " he pauses, "Perhaps someone could refresh my memory, though?"

_Brilliant, we have a Judge who hasn't even read the background of the case, the murderer's standing on the witness stand, lying about seeing the defendant heading towards the scene of the crime and a prosecutor preaching absurd statements and motives._

_ It's going to be a long trial..._


	13. Revealing the truth

**Thanks Naoko Suki; haha, I dunno why, I have to wait for at least one review before updating. Here's the next chapter. You may have to wait a bit, but things get going after the trial. I might post chapter 14 as well now, actually. Enjoy and I loooove feedback. :) **

** Chapter thirteen **

Payne raises his eyebrows, but quickly returns to normal and nods, "Of course, your Honour; the basics of the trial are that Roger Savage was found dead at 11.03 at his office in town. Cause of death was a stab wound in the back and the murder weapon has the defendants prints on." he paused, "Death would have been almost instantaneous; at most he may have lived for perhaps a minute after penetration."

"I see," The Judge replied, nodding, "and Miss. Savage claims that she saw him entering the building minutes before the death?"

"Indeed, Miss. Savage does state that, even though there's no concrete evidence for this claim and the defendant assures me he entered through the back door of the building." I say, bring the conversation back to Julie's testimony.

Smirking, Payne replies, "Well, of course he would say that-"

"Interesting theory, Payne, but let's examine exactly what Richard would have to gain from lying about this? Whether he went through the back way, or the front way, the point is he was at the scene of the crime moments _after _Roger's death." I decided now would be a could time to point out another issue, while I was on a roll, "Also, I'd like to ask exactly what Miss. Savage's testimony brings to this trial? As I just said, we know he entered the building at some point anyway else he wouldn't have found the body, so technically, all this testimony reveals is that _Miss._ Savage was near the scene of the crime as well." I fold my arms and wait for a reaction.

"Actually, Wright, I think you'll find that Miss. Savage's testimony stated that she saw him entering the office _just before_ 11...in case you were wondering, " he shoots me a look of smug loathing, "this is important because he claims he got there after 11 and therefore, after his brother had been murdered. _This testimony _gives Richard Savage the _time_ to murder his brother."

I slam the desk with my hands and narrow my eyes, "Thank you for clearing that up for me, _Payne,_ but I must now raise the point that it's highly likely that Miss. Savage's testimony is complete and utter _bullsh-_" I start before remembering where I am, "complete and utter _rubbish._"

Julie looks astounded, but it seems clear to me that she's acting. She can't have seriously come here to tell pointless lies and then be surprised when I accuse her of this.

"Be that as it may, Mr. Wright, you may have pointed out there's not footage of this on the video tape, but that's not substantial enough proof, considering how simple it is to meddle with those devices. Also, the word of the defendant-"

"-Cannot be taken into account because he has too many reasons to lie." I continue for him, feeling exceedingly irritated. "Your Honour, do you not thing that these two factors combined, though, do raise the question of how accurate is Miss. Savage's testimony?" I stare him down and he looks at Julie, who's now playing with her hair while she stares at the floor.

After a lot of deliberation he finally speaks, "I must admit, you've raised an interesting point about what Mr. Savage has to gain from lying-"

"Objection!" I stare at Payne, surprised he's stupid enough to cut across the Judge, "He has _everything_ to lie about; if he went through the back entrance, he can easily lie about what time he arrived-"

"Mr. Payne, I am not here to be spoken over-" he says, staring harshly at Payne who bows.

"I apologize, your Honour, but I felt I must stop you from believing the logic of this complete conject-"

"Objection! If we're taking what you said into account, which is merely speculation, then surely we should take the more concrete evidence about the security tape into account, too?"

The Judge frowns, "Silence both of you." he says, crossly, "Both of you make valid points, but I'm afraid that Mr. Wright has raised too many questions about this for me to trust this testimony."

Payne scowls at me and I smile grimly, it's oddly satisfying to actually have him take my side for once. Maya grins at me squeezes my arm.

"See, we're getting some where." she says, my heart leaps a little and I convince myself that's it's because of the rarity of the small victory I've just had.

"Miss. Savage, do you have any more evidence to give?" The Judge asks, "I'm sorry your testimony doesn't hold up-"

Her lip trembles, possibly for the judges benefit and she shakes her head doubtfully, flashing the odd questioning look at Payne who shrugs, probably inexplicably surprised his tactics didn't work. She might be done, but I'm certainly not.

"Your Honour, surely if Miss Savage was close enough to the building near eleven to supposedly see Mr. Savage-"

"Mr. Wright, I thought you'd decided that testimony wasn't reliable-" Payne cuts across me.

I bite back the words "shut up" and continue, "-entering the building, surely her own innocence in this situation should be taken into question?"

He looks horrified, "Mr. Wright! Surely you're not suggesting that Miss. Savage is a suspect!"

"I fail to understand why she wouldn't be, we seem to be assuming that just because she looks a bit shaken up and is a woman, she has nothing to do with this- talk about chivalry thesis. I mean, let's look at some past trials; I'd say about 70% of the time _at least_ the witness turns out to be the one who's guilty-"

"Objection!" Payne shouts, "I refuse to let these accusations continue-"

"They're not accusations, Mr. Payne, I'm merely wondering why she isn't a suspect." I reply, doing my best to sound calm and collected.

"Well I-I-" The Judge looks lost for words, so I take this opportunity to try and make my case.

"Miss. Savage claims she was near the building at the time of the murder, while we can't necessarily take her testimony into account as it's not reliable, if he claims she was _there_ then isn't it the law to-"

"OBJECTION!" Payne squawks at me, "I will not allow this poor innocent woman to treated in this way! She's done nothing but-"

"But she claims she was near Roger's office just before the murder." I finished calmly, _If I were Edgeworth, I'd totally be bowing right now. _"Surely we should at least question her?"

The Judge looks on uncomfortable, but I can tell he's wavering. Meanwhile, Julie looks distinctly like she's panicking as she stares up at the judge, eyes wide in frightened anticipation.

"Very well," he answers slowly, "But, Mr. Wright, I must request you do not badger her-"

"You're questioning her, how are you supposed to not badger her?" Maya whispers, her eyebrows raised.

I'm just glad to have a foot in the door, "God knows; all I need to do is make her panic. Hopefully everything will come out then."

This is when I discover a rather large hole in my plan; how am I supposed to make her panic? Surely, the obvious question from here is "what were you doing near Roger Savage's office?", but I'm certain she'd just answer that she was trying to find him and never even entered it. The simple answer would be to just present the email which very clearly shows her and Roger were having an affair and yet I know this could just incriminate Richard even further.

_Can I really take this risk?_

I turn to Maya and whisper to her, "Maya, what do you think I should ask her first?"

She looks surprised. I'm not usually in the habit of asking her directly what to do. But I'm actually stuck. This situation needs to be handled carefully and if I upset Julie too much, the judge will stop me questioning her.

"Um, do what you did before with Richard; see if you can reveal the affair by un-masking the argument?" she looks a little uncertain, but It's certainly worth a try.

"Your husband informed me yesterday that he and you had an argument of some kind. Could you testify as you what that was about?"

Staring innocently back, she nods, "The argument was just over something silly. I shouted at him for . . . not . . . replying to a message I'd sent him earlier that day about shopping. After a while I felt bad and rang him up, before heading out to try and find him to apologize."

"Well," The judge said, "That sounds plausible enough."

"Can I ask what time you had the argument?"

She pauses and thinks for a moment, "Um, I can't really remem-"

"Right, well I have a written testimony of Richard Savage saying that it was at around 7'clock. This indicates he stayed out for around four hours; seems like a bit of an over-reaction to such a small argument."

She shrugs, doubtfully, "I don't know why he stayed out so long- that's why I went out looking for him."

I know I can't put this off any longer, it has to be done, no matter how horrible it might be.

"Objection!" I shout, reluctantly, pointing my finger, "The think is, Mrs. Savage, I think you do know the reason why he stayed out so late."

Julie shakes her head and it's strange, because I know that to the rest of the courtroom, it looks like she's denying that she knows the answer. But I know what she really means by the gesture. Her eyes seem to convey the message _"please don't do this"_, but I have to. She must realize this, surely?

"Miss Savage, I'm going to give you one final chance to confess the true reason why you and Richard were arguing on the night in question."

She stares back, her bottom lip trembling and finally shakes her head.

"I'd like to present this email, accidentally sent at 6.36pm from Roger to Richard Savage. The message basically conveys that Roger wished for Julie to leave Richard for himself after their 20 year long affair."

The court is speechless.


	14. A surprising revelation

**Chapter fourteen**

Eventually the Judge asks me to hand up the email and slowly reads it out to the rest of the court. I wish he wouldn't. This whole thing is sordid enough and I know Richard will be embarrassed by this whole scandal, despite the fact he's done nothing wrong.

The reactions seem to be mixed, some appalled, some seem to find it romantic, even if it is in a twisted way. A lot of them are glaring at Julie who refuses to make eye-contact with anyone; she might be crying, but it's hard to tell.

"Mr. Wright," the Judge begins, "It's understandable you'd draw those conclusions from reading this, but never does it plainly state about their affair."

I nod, reasonably, "True, but I think a glance at the witness will speak for itself. Give her a chance to deny it."

Julie's crying and doesn't seem to want to look at anyone. She says nothing.

"Is this true, Mrs. Savage?"

A single nod is given and whispering ensues.

"As scandalous as what you've just revealed is, Mr. Wright," Payne sneers, "I must point out that this gives _yet another _motive to the defendant. It seems rather obvious why this crime was committed, don't you think?"

_How very predictable . . . _"I can see how, in your eyes this creates a perfect, if not stronger motive for Mr. Savage to murder Mr. Sav- for Richard to murder Roger; however, I think it's also important to point out that this also gives motive to Richard's wife-"

"Objection! Hardly grounds to kill-"

"By that logic, neither is the affair-"

"She might have wanted everyone to know! For all we know this saved her the job of telling her husband she loved his brother instead-"

"I didn't love Roger instead-" a small voice pipes up, but I ignore it.

"Does she look like she wanted everyone to know!" She looks positively mortified; as though she'd be perfectly happy is the ground opened up and swallowed her. Quite suddenly she speaks very quietly.

"Mrs. Savage is unlikely to have been the one who murdered Roger if she loved him instead of her husband-" Payne says, clutching at straws somewhat.

"I didn't love Roger_ instead_." She says it much louder this time.

Payne pauses and look at her, "What was that Mrs. Savage?" his voice is careful and he's clearly intrigued.

She coughs slightly and speaks again, slightly louder, "I said, I didn't love Roger _instead_. I loved them both so much and-and now R-Roger's d-dead and R-Richard's going to jail and it's a-all m-my fauuuuuult." Apparently this is the final nail in her emotional coffin and she breaks down into large, loud sobs and I'm quite certain no one's quite sure how to react. If the collective courtroom feels anything like me they want to comfort her, but are also aware that she's right; she has done a terrible thing.

I can't stop; I have to finish this.

"You're right Mrs. Savage," she instantly stops crying and looks at me, tears swimming in her eyes and she looks tragically intrigued by what I might have to say, "Richard is going to jail because of you . . . but you can fix this, Julie."

She opens her mouth slowly and I wait with baited breath before-

"Objection!" Payne yells, "I can see exactly where you're going with this, _Wright_." he spits, "What you're insinuating is absurd; as if poor Mrs. Savage, who, by the way, is an innocent witness who came up all the way down here to testify-"

"But that's just it, Payne. She came down here to testify _against her own husband_, who, let's face it, was already quite certain to be going to jail as it was. Don't you find that a bit . . . odd?"

He looks utterly confused and also rather irritated, "How is it odd; we're talking about a woman who-"

"Careful there; it's not your place to judge . . . in fact, really, it's not anyone's place to-"

"It's mine!" The Judge pipes up.

I fight back a sigh, "Well, yeah, I guess it is yours. What I'm trying to say, is . . . " and then I have an epiphany, "I think Mrs. Savage came down her to testify, not against Richard, but against herself . . . you wanted to get caught, didn't you?"

She swallows and widens her eyes, "D-don't be ridiculous!", but she sounds unconvinced.

"You're not a horrible person Julie and I know you don't want Richard to go to jail for a crime he never committed, especially when he only found out about you affair little more than two days ago. I'd say that'd be pretty rough on him."

"I didn't. You're being foolish, it wasn't me!" She shouts, looking quite unhinged now.

I know I'm right; even if she doesn't realise it herself, she isn't going to let Richard go to jail for this. However, apparently it's going to take a little more coaxing to get her to confess.

"If it was me then why are his prints all over the weapon?" She yells, frantically.

I present the knife, "Because it was his knife, so it's only natural his prints would be all over it. Also. Richard informed me that he found the discarded knife outside of the scene of the crime and picked it up, explaining the prints."

"M-my prints aren't on it, though."

Apparently it's now Julie's own job to defend herself as Payne seems to be a drawing blanks.

I shrug, "Well, that would be because they're not on it and why would they be? You're wearing gloves. You have been since the say I met you . . . and finally the real truth behind the black costume."

"I'm afraid I don't follow you Mr. Wright." the Judge says, shooting me a quizzing look.

"Mrs. Savage is dressed as though she's in mourning, much the way a widow would be. However, she told us when we questioned her that it was because she's a fashion designer and "blacks very in at the moment". The actual reason is that she wore the gloves when she stabbed Richard and by carrying on wearing them she didn't have to worrying about destroying them-"

"That's all very convenient, Mr. Wright, but you have no actual proof." Payne says, snapping back into action.

I shake my head and look over at Julie, who's shaking slightly and staring at the floor as huge crocodile tears fall onto the tiles. "Do I need evidence? Look at her; she's terrified. I'm amazed she was even allowed to testify. So much has happened to her in the last few days; a man she loves dearly found out she'd been seeing his brother for 20 years and-"

"I can't take it-" her face is scrunched up, her speech is barely audible, through all the crying, "I don't want to lie a-any more. I-I've lied too much, everyday for so long and I-I don't want to do it any more." and then she's silent for a moment and she stares up at the Judge. "I killed Roger."

"I-I didn't mean to; it was an accident. I-I- h-he-" and she trails off into a loud wail.

"I can give you details about what took place as she confessed everything to her husband yesterday. I don't think she's in a very good state to testify at the moment."

"Ah, right, of course." The judge answers, looking a little troubled. It's hardly shocking; this is one messed up case.

Maya takes my hand and smiles weakly at me, "You did it." she whispers, as I shiver slightly, but hide it well and turn my attention back to the court.

"Well, obviously Mrs. Savage will have to testify at some point, but until then . . . I suppose I can pass a verdict . . . The defendant Richard Savage, is _not_ guilty of the charges and may be set free." There's a certain sadness in his face as he pounds the gavel. Can't say I blame him. The only comfort I can find is that an innocent man has escapes jail.

I barely feel no true satisfaction in watching them take Julie away at all.


	15. Banter

** I've been so slow with posting this so I'm going to try and do it a lot more, even though it's kind of lost reviews a bit. The romance picks up slightly from here anyway. Thanks Shizuka Ayasato for the reviews. :)**

**Chapter fifteen **

Before we know it we're outside in the lobby and Richard's standing there with his hands in his pockets, staring grimly at the floor. As we approach, he looks up and smiles weakly before firmly grasping my hand and shaking it and then doing the same with Maya's.

"Thank you, so much . . . I really can't put it into words-"

I smile back, "It's fine, I was relatively pleased to do it . . . the bad circumstances couldn't have been helped."

He shrugs "I'm sure they could have...but I don't think it's a good idea to dwell on that fact." and looks back down at the floor.

"Are you going to be okay?" Maya asks, tentatively.

Shrugging and pulling a face he pulls a hand out of his pocket and I notice he's holding something. "I'll be fine . . . well, not for a while I won't be, but eventually, it'll sink in and I'm sure I'll be able to move on."

I'm certain he's putting on a brave face. Suddenly I flash back to not long ago when I stood here with Maya, who was also doing her best to put on a brave face at the time. I admire them both hugely; they've both lost so much and yet they stand there so strong.

"What are you going to do now?" I ask, wondering what I'd do in his situation.

He shrugs again, "Who knows? I might expand the business, or better yet, I might sell it and start over somewhere else . . . yeah, I think I prefer the second idea. Too many memories in this city now. Do you ever find yourself identifying areas you see on a day to day basis with things you've lost?"

It's strange, but I completely understand what he means. Every case I've ever handled is linked to a setting; Gourd Lake, the Gatewater hotel, Kurain village. But it's not just the cases, it's other things too. When I was working alone after my fourth case I found myself looking back at better times when Maya was there, even if it was just remembering dumb stuff we did to pass the time when we were bored. I'd stare at the bin and remember our paper ball flinging contest or see her desk and wish it was once again covered in scattered piles of paper. I associate a lot of places with her, the cities littered with memories of the last few years with her.

"Yeah, I do." We both say in unison, before turning to look at each other and flashing the other a quizzical look.

He raises his eyebrows, "What you two have is very special, you know."

I smile slightly awkwardly at Maya, but it immediately drops at what he says next.

"Never take that for granted."

I raise my eyebrows and look at Maya again.

"We're friends," Maya says, "Not a couple-". Is it my imagination or is she blushing?

He nods with his eyebrows slightly raised again, "I never said you were. You told me that you weren't before, doesn't mean you don't have something special."

Eager to swiftly change the subject I search my mind for something else to say, but Richard beats me to it. "Well, I suppose this is it; it's been a pleasure . . . well, some of it has been. Generally the last few days have probably been the worst days of my life, but hey, at least I'm not going to jail." he looks grim, but I can tell he's attempting to sound light-hearted, so I smile back, grimly.

I go to shake his hand again, "If you ever need anything- hopefully you won't need defending again-"

Maya pipes up now, "You're a really nice man, Richard; when you're ready, you're sure to find someone else."

"Thank you, you're very kind; both of you. My cheque should come through in a few days so you'll be officially paid then, but here-" he hands me a twenty dollar note, "Go out and get some drinks... in fact, I'm not sure if you'd be interested, but..." he puts his hand in his pocket and rustles around for a minute. "I had planned to take Julie to a concert tonight, but obviously . . . well, I won't be doing that now. Seems pointless to let these go to waste."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes. Definitely. Go out and have fun; reward yourself for all the hard work you've done."

We smile and I take the tickets. "Thanks."

"Well, goodbye Mr. Wright." and he shakes Maya's hand, "and you, Maya. And have a nice time tonight." he says with a slightly twinkle in his eye.

"Bye, Richard, good luck for the future."

And then he's gone and we're leaving the court-room. "Well, wanna go for that drink he encouraged us to go for?"

She smiles and nods, "Sure, though, I think he may be trying to match-make us." She grins cheekily, "So I'll be on the look-out if you try and get me drunk."

I almost double-take. Is she flirting with me? I shake the thought off. Obviously I'm looking into this far too much.

But she's looking at me strangely, waiting for my reply. I search my mind frantically for something to say. "Like you'd complain." I say, verbalizing the first thing that pops into me head.

_Why did I say that!_ I think,_ That's actually the creepiest thing I have ever said. Ever._

Maya just throws laughs, "You wish. _You_ sure wouldn't."

_Thank God, she took it as a joke. It's fine, _I tell myself, _It's a joke. It's banter, between friends. Loads of people who're just friends have slightly flirty conversations that imply that one of them wants to sleep with the other. It's perfectly normal and not creepy. At all._

"Pfft," I say, trying not to convey how uncomfortable I am and how I'm sweating five times more than usual."I guess we'll see."

_Cringe._ _What does that mean! What exactly am I implying here!_

Laughing again she just flicks her hair out of the way. "Yeah, guess we will."

_Oh God._


	16. Bad time to realise

_**Aye, aye, aye. It's been a gazzilion years since I updated now...I have an excuse, kind of. My review emails haven't been coming through until thecardboardunicorns' did earlier. I figured, if no one's reading this, there's not much point in updating any more...then I check my reviews and BAM, there're four. Sorry! Also, I wrote the story ages ago, but there was a part of this chapter I got stuck on and left, only to come back more recently and think "Um, still don't know what to write here..." but I persevered and it's done.**_

_**Big thanks to Shizuka Ayasato, deadlysnipe12 and Naoko Suki for the kind reviews. :) Also, I checked and that's a good point, thecardboardunicorn. I do have a habit of halting at 15. I do actually plan on updating Nice Girls in particular and should I find the time Mia Fey – The Story isn't out of the question either. Thanks for your (as usual) lovely review! ^_^ **_

_**And onto the story...:) Actually a long-ish chapter for once!**_

**Chapter sixteen**

"So..." I begin casually as we walk down the pavement, away from the court, "Where do you want to go for that drink? It can be anywhere you like; he's given me way more money than you need to get a couple of drinks."

Maya just shakes her head, "I don't know...no where fancy," she thinks for a second, "so maybe we could just go to the normal place we go?"

Neither of us are big drinkers, but whenever we do go out, we usually head to a bar which isn't far from our office, maybe five-ten minutes away. I'm glad it won't take long to get there from the court-house as I'm actually feeling pretty tired, which is something I decide to voice.

"I'm actually quite tired, you know." I say, yawning absent-mindedly.

She raises her eyebrows, "Well we'd better get you a Coke or something then, because that concert things tonight."

"Oh right; I forgot about that." I pull the tickets out of my pocket and look at them properly. "Hmm, not exactly my thing, full orchestral bands . . ." I shrug as we head into the bar, "Still, I'm sure it'll be good."

"Too right it will be; we're going to have fun dammit because you worked really, really hard on that case." she says to me, nudging my arm playfully.

"_We_ worked really hard on that case." I correct her as we walk through the glass doors. "It mean, you went a whole day with like, barely any food at all. For you, that's some serious commitment." I nudge her back. Joking about her love of food is always a safe bet with Maya.

As I expect, she pretends to look bemused for a moment, but then gives up the game and grins.

I don't have a coke. Instead, I order a bottle of champagne, but I make it the cheapish stuff. Richard gave us a lot of money, but spending it all on one drink just seems decadent; wasteful even. A bottle between us is easily enough. We talk about Richard for most of the time we're there, sharing what we think would be best for him. Both of us agree he should move away; the idea of memories scattered around every inch of his house and every street he walks along each day is a depressing one; the sort of thing you can't get past.

I wasn't sure how he was to get past something like that anyway. Imagining how it feels to be betrayed like that isn't something I can actually imagine and I don't want to anyway. Feeling sad is a waste of time, right? I should be grateful for what I have at this moment, not dwell over that I'm sure to lose...or who.

We leave the bar a little worse for wear. As I said, we're not big drinkers, so half a bottle of champagne, particularly for her gives us both (for want of a better way of putting it) a buzzy feeling. I'm no where near tipsy yet, but she might be. I make a note to stop her from drinking too much later, but then something hits me (metaphorically of course) square in the face.

Maya's not a child. She'd legally old enough to drink; I'm not her dad. If she wants to, then I shouldn't try and stop her in any way other than an equal friend might. It's a funny feeling...she's not my responsibility and we are equal. I'm no longer the only adult here.

Calling for a taxi, I raise my arm and one pulls up quickly. The man inside seems nice enough and asks us where we'd like to go.

"The concert hall?" I say, more as a question as I don't exactly know where the concert is or what the actual name of it will be. I mean, who calls the concert hall "The concert hall"? Hopefully there's not more than one in the area.

"We're not going straight to the concert, silly!" she says, tugging at my arm.

I raise my eyebrows, confused, "We're not? Where're we going then?"

She rolls her eyes, "Home! We can't turn up to that kind of concert dressed like this." she pulls at her own clothes, a disproving look on her face. "We'd look ridiculous. In fact, I don't know if we'd even get let in."

"What's wrong with what we're wearing?" I look down at my usual blue suit and give myself an approving nod. I happen to think I look rather smart. "Okay, I can see how they might have a problem with what _you're_ wearing- ouch. I was kidding, no need to slap me in the arm!"

"Nick! Take this seriously! We need to get changed into smart clothes, okay? So obviously I'll be wearing a dress-"

"I don't have all day, you know?" The driver remarks, somewhat rudely. I ignore him momentarily.

"Do you even own a dress? And oh God, you want me to wear a sports jacket, don't you?"

Her face is disbelieving as she looks up at me, "A sports jacket!? I hope you mean suit, Nick, because-"

"Fine, fine! A suit it is. Though I'm already wearing a suit, I think you'll find-" I remark, appeasing her as quickly as possible as getting into a taxi and giving the driver our address.

"You know what I mean," she continues once we're in there, "a proper suit; a black and white one. And hey! Of course I own a dress. Several actually." she says, sounding quite affronted and haughtily looking away.

I know she's only kidding though. I was too. It's great the way we're so comfortable around each other that we can "banter" without things becoming too uncomfortable. Of course, I don't believe this is strictly true as my mind thinks back to our earlier banter. Luckily, there's been none of that since and things have slipped back nicely into ordinary Nick-Maya conversation.

As we drive things get a little uncomfortable again, as she says, "I'm probably taking this whole "looking nice" thing a bit too seriously." she laughs, nervously. "It's silly . . . this is my last night here . . . I guess I want everything to be perfect."

I turn my head so I'm facing her and can instantly see that even though she's trying to keep her tone light and casual, there's a definite underlying sadness in her eyes. Quickly, I grow hot; the way we're staring at each other; it's strangely and inexplicably intimate.

In a strange moment of madness I consider leaning in a little closer, partly just to see what she does in return, but I can't. I really, really can't. Something is stopping me and I think it's most likely that thing is three years of close friendship.

Oddly, we both look away at the same time and she starts talking about the Steel Samurai; apparently it's her go-to topic when things get awkward. It takes a few minutes of ever-so-slightly strained conversation to turn back into normal discussion between best friends. Before I know it we're at out place. Calling a taxi was a waste of money; we live about five minutes from the bar, so I frown as I pay the driver, handing him a tip for the time we wasted.

As we walk towards the front door I glance over at Maya. I wonder if she'd trying as hard as I am to push those unwanted and ignored-for-so-long thoughts to the back of her mind?

By the time we get back to mine, I'm getting a little anxious. It's almost seven in the evening and the concert starts pretty soon. As we bustle in through the door I make a point to check my watch.

"Time's getting on, Maya. Don't take too long getting changed or anything." I say, heading into my room.

She rolls her eye again, "Nice stereotyping there, Nick. Because I'm a girl I'll obviously take ages to get ready. I mean, there's my hair and then there's all that make-up I have to apply too..."

"Oh ha ha, just don't take too long and like I said, you don't need make-up," I add, absent mindedly chucking in a compliment, "so don't bother, okay?"

Wondering if I can detect a hint of a blush I change quickly, glad my suit's not too wrinkled from the last time I wore it. I run my hand through my hair and decide it looks fine and can be left and head back out into the sitting area.

"Maya, I'm done. Nearly ready?"

"Uhuh, one sec-"

Pacing up and down I wait, still anxious. I'll bet the tickets were expensive, if we miss the beginning I'll feel like Richard wasted the tickets on us. Still, I reckon I'd be pushing it if I ask her if she's ready again literally thirty seconds after the last time.

You know in rom-coms when a woman who was previously just nice-looking, turns out to be breathtakingly beautiful? When Maya walked out of her room, it was one of those moments, only in real life. She looked beautiful.

Beautiful really is the only way to describe it.

I search my mind for something to say which won't give anything away too much. I settle on, "Wow, Maya, you look like a Special K woman."

And it's true; she does. It's a long red dress which clings to the contours of her waist before dipping down into a sweet-heart neck-line with thin, spaghetti straps.

Maya unsurprisingly, now gives me a strange look, "I assume that's a compliment?"

I nod, convincingly, ignoring the fact that that's a really weird thing to say, "Definitely; though actually, your hair would have to be more brown . . . and lighter. All the same, it's the kind of dress a Special K woman might wear . . . you look great . . ." I add, in-case I wasn't making myself clear enough, or merely being too obscure. I trail off, staring at her. I can't believe how good she looks.

That's a lie; I can. She's beautiful in general and of course, there's never been a worse time for me to realise this.

"You look nice too." she says, laughing slightly, most likely at my comment about her looking like a Special K woman.

"Thanks." I look fine, nothing special, though.

"Well, enough standing around admiring each other. A minute ago you were fussing about us being late."

I'm getting so used to thinking strange and uncomfortable thoughts that I barely register the fact that I can hardly stop staring at her and that in my mind I answered her statement with "I could probably just sit here and admire you all day. Sorry, were we meant to go to some concert? Let's stay home and find something else to-"

But I don't allow myself to finish that particular thought as this is when it hits me that I'm basically lusting over my best friend.

_Oh God, did actually just admit I'm "lusting"? _

That little voice in my head telling me this is the worst idea _ever_ is getting quieter and quieter.


	17. So close, yet so far

_** Thanks to Naoko Suki, Shizuka Ayasato and thecardboardunicorn! Your reviews keep me going, obviously. :) **_

_** Here's the next chapter...**_

** Seventeen **

Before we know it we're there and I can scarcely believe how amazing it everything is. It's clearly a small concert, only for those who are very privileged and/or incredibly rich. The atmosphere is oddly reminiscent of being at a wedding, because everyone around us is either dressed in a dinner-jacket or a beautiful long dress.. There are pretty white tables and chairs of all sizes placed around and then a large stage at the front, with what may have been an unattractive wire cage with light rigged up on it at one point; it's been covered in hundreds of fairy lights, though, to disguise the harshness of of the black metal framework.

Maya's clearly amazed by everything around us. She keeps making excited squealing noises and tugging on my arms to point to the decorations.

Unsurprisingly, it's an open bar, but I can also see there's a bottle of champagne on every table. _How much did this concert cost?_ I think to myself as we seek out out table for two. It's to the right of the stage and next to the dance floor.

"This is amazing." she says, her jaw almost dropping. "Is this how rich people live, Nick? Because if it is, maybe I ought to be more ambitious with my career choice..."

I laugh, "I was going to say; I'm not sure that being of Master of Kurain will necessarily get you loaded."

Shrugging and laughing she grabs my arms and we sit down, opposite one another, "Oh well, I'm sure you can always bail me out if I'm ever in any _real_ financial trouble."

"The only way _you'd_ ever get into any financial trouble is if they opened up a burger bar in Kurain. Otherwise, I think you'll be set for life, Maya and hang on- there'll be no bailing you out, I can barely afford to keep myself at the moment . . . although, I think this case may have improved my bank balance a little." I add thoughtfully.

She grins mischievously, "See, I think this is the beginning of great things for you, Nick. I won't be here to take your money-"

_I'd rather have you here,_ I think to myself, "Maya, you don't even take that much of my money. It's just the occasional dinner. You're really not that bad."

She starts to say something, but we both turn around because everyone around us has suddenly begun to clap, alerting us to the fact that the lights on the stage have just been switched on and we can see the orchestra illuminated, now. One of the stands and bows before speaking.

"Welcome, I'd like to present the State symphony orchestra. Thank you very much for coming and we hope you enjoy your night. Refreshments are available at the open bar and meals are available to order from the menus on your tables. As well as this, please enjoy the complimentary bottle of champagne at each of your tables. Once again, we hope you have a wonderful night."

Immediately everyone begins to clap and they begin to play. It starts of with the sounds of a slow, soft violin piece, where the sound and the mood of the piece gradually increases. Before long the music sounds hopeful and as sombre and before. I never counted myself as a fan of classical music, but I have to admit; the only word that can possibly explain it is beautiful

We're both transfixed at the start, but eventually I look round and catch Maya's eye.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she says, eyes full of wonder.

"I was just thinking that. I've always dismissed classical music, but this is amazing." I glance at the table. "You hungry at all?" I ask, looking at the menu in particular.

She looks thoughtful for a second, "For once I'm actually not that hungry. I know, crazy, right?" she adds, registering my look of astonishment.

"That's probably lucky; I doubt this place does burgers anyway. It's far too "upper class"" I say the last bit with an over-exaggerated British accent, which Maya laughs at.

"Nick, that was awful! God, I hope no one around here heard that. They'd probably be offended."

"Not as a offended as your assumption that everyone here must be British, because obviously only posh, British people enjoy classical music." I quip back at her, grinning.

She narrows her eyes jokingly, "Oh ha ha, you know I wasn't saying it like that." It's her turn to glance at the table now. "Well, if neither of us are eating, what about opening the champagne?"

In spite of my earlier thoughts my instant reaction is to jokingly warn her off, for her own sake as well as mine. "Hmm, is that a good idea? We split that bottle earlier and I know how you can get..."

As I said before, neither of us are big drinkers, but we've had our nights. Alcohol wasn't actually allowed back at Kurain and Maya had been under-age for the majority of the time I'd known her anyway, but on her twenty-first a few of us had gone out. Gumshoe and Maggey had tagged along and Edgeworth had, at first, somewhat reluctantly came along. Long story short, it hadn't ended well. After two glasses of wine she'd been sick and sworn the next morning that she'd _never _drink again. While she's not overly fond of drinking, after a while she did warm to the idea a little after a while. Still, it was fun to gently tease her about this from time to time.

"Hilarious, Nick. You know I'm _that_ bad any more. Well, I like to think I'm not, anyway. It's just champagne and hey, we're here to have fun and celebrate right?"

It's not long before the bottles almost empty and I'm actually feeling pretty good. We're laughing and I've practically pushed the fact that Maya's leaving tomorrow to the back of my mind. I'm in the "happy zone", but I know with a few more drinks I could easily turn into one of those depressed drunks, so I decide I might lay off the drinks for a while. Maya's doing okay, I'd probably class her concretely tipsy as she's had less to drink than me. I started her off on a full glass, but once she'd stopped paying attention, only half-filled the flute. Jokes aside, I certainly don't want to make her sick.

"Ni-ii-ck..." she goes, stringing my name out so it sounds like it has about two more syllables than it actually has.

"Maya-a-a?" I enquire, playfully.

She smiles, a gleam in her eye that I know all too well; she's about to ask me to do something I won't want to do, I can just tell.

"Nearly everyone's dancing!"

It's certainly a valid observation. It's probably getting on for the end of the night now and many of the couples have taken to the dance-floor, slow dancing to the soft orchestral sounds.

"You're right, Maya, they are!" I say, with mock enthusiasm, "Well observed."

_ Oh dear, I can see where this is going..._

"So why aren't we?" she almost looks sad, but it's hard to tell if she's acting or not. Especially after a few glasses of champagne and a beer earlier.

"Because we don't know how to dance, Maya, that's why."

Looking offended she grabs my hand off the table and my heart suddenly thuds in my chest, "Speak for yourself, Nick, _I _certainly can dance!"

"Oh yeah?" I say, eyebrows both raised, "Forgive me, I'll amend that statement then- It's because I don't want to dance, can't dance and oh yeah, I just don't want to dance."

Now she's pouting and still tugging on my arm, "You said the first one twice."

"I know, it was to emphasise just how little I want to-" but I can see her face, she looks genuinely disappointed, "Oh fine then, but _only_ because you're leaving tomorrow, otherwise, this Lawyer," I point to myself, "does not dance, okay?"

I let her pull me over to the dance floor where I start to swing my arms, slowly and cumbersomely to the music. Maya stares at me like I've gone insane.

"What on earth are you doing?" she asks, incredulously.

"Dancing!" I actually feel a little offended.

Still looking at me incredulously, but grabbing my hands now she places one of my hands on her waist. "I'm meant _slow dancing_, idiot. Also, I'm pretty sure you'd be arrested in some places for calling what you were just doing "dancing"." she giggles at her own joke.

"Y-you want to slow dance me- I mean with me?" I say, trying to ignore the fact that my hearts been thudding ridiculous amounts ever since she placed my hand on her hip.

"Of course I do, who else _would_ I dance with Nick. It has to be you." she smiles up at me and then just as suddenly as she had smiled, her expression turns to one of sadness. "You know the other day when I said that thing?"

She's looking down now. Her bodies pressed against mine. It's almost disconcerting how normal it feels, yet still decidedly weird. Before now I had no idea those things could coincide.

"Erm, you've said a lot of things in the last few days. You'll have to be a little more specific, think."

Still staring resolutely at the ground she avoids my gaze, "That thing about wanting to leave and become the Master of Kurain . . . about how I wasn't sure I wanted it and I felt like I _had_ to?"

I nod, not eager to give away my feelings of this matter.

"I-I was in a bad place . . . all the crying, the moods . . . but these last few days, I haven't felt so bad." she pauses, her voice almost a whisper as she stares into my chest. I stand there, swaying on the spot with her, hoping she'll say something else, because frankly, I'm not sure where she's going with this.

Luckily for me, she does, "I think it's because when you know something won't be there for much longer, you stop taking it for granted and start noticing the great things about it. Before, all I could see were the negatives."

"What are you trying to say?" I ask, heart thudding and not daring to get my hopes up for the idea that she might, possibly, maybe be saying she wants to stay.

She shrugs, "I don't know what I'm trying to say, Nick. You know I have to leave . . . "

"Yeah, I do." I reply, my voice strained, feeling like a fool because, despite my efforts my hopes had been a bit, well, "up" for want of a better way of phrasing it.

Finally Maya looks up at me, "Don't say it like that, please. I said I would- I have to, you understand, don't you? I don't want to leave you, Nick. I mean, you mean so much to me-" she slurs her words ever so slightly.

"Maya, have you been sneaking drinks from a secret hip-flask, or are you more of a light-weight than I-" I have to steer this conversation away from the serious side. I've drank more than I planned and if she doesn't stop saying things soon, feelings and desire I don't plan on revealing are going to become pretty apparent.

"Nick!" she snaps, looking stern, "I'm not drunk- well, not _that_ drunk anyway." pausing and staring up into my eyes, hers almost look tearful and my heart's racing by now. "I mean it, Nick. I've never had _anybody_, take such selfless care of me. You're my . . . best friend and lately . . . " she trails off, leaving us staring at each other, not quite able to tear our eyes away.

I hope it's a searching look I'm giving her, as her expression's quite difficult to read. Time seems to have slowed down, her face inching towards mine as I silently and desperately will her to finish the sentence.

_"Lately . . . " what!? It it possible that she's been feeling the odd mixture of feelings that I have?_

She's so close now, but I can't go through with this, can I?

I don't need to make the decision though, because luckily (or not so luckily) the final note of the piece plays and the concert is over, the rumbling of voices surrounds us. Our faces jerk away from one another and we see that people are milling away from the dance floor and what I think was an almost-kiss is forgotten. By forgotten, I mean it's literally all either of us are thinking about as we awkwardly make plans to get a taxi and then wait in silence outside as it starts to rain.

Talk about mental landscaping; It's raining, Maya's still leaving and we've probably just managed to make our friendship fraught with unnecessary awkwardness and tension. On top of this neither of us actually got any temporary enjoyment as we didn't even get to kiss.

Does life get any better than this?

I think it probably does.

_** Gee, I'm really string this out, not long to wait now, guys...**_


	18. Intense developments

**Thanks Shizuka Ayasato, as I said in my PM- all fixed :) also, thanks to thecardboardunicorn (I am also British...and not posh. Just wanted to shove that stereotype in there anyway! ;)). **

**Also, hey phantom reviewer- I know you're anon, so might not see this, but anyway- thanks for your observations. To be honest, I'm amazed these are the only plot-holes that have been raised. Dropping pretence, this is a slightly flimsy plot, which nicely sets of the romance between Maya and Phoenix which is my main focus for the story xD. So, for all plot-related issues...a wizard did it. ;) But seriously, thanks for pointing those out...maybe it was a particularly negligent security guard on duty that day? Also, let's ignore cannon age because let's face it, it makes this story seem a lot creepier...Maya is twenty-one here. **

**In other news I've been accepted into university! Worryingly, I'm doing English Literature and Creative Writing and so am probably wasting £30,000+ on a degree which will get me very little future employment prospects and will nurture a talent I probably don't actually have. All the same, I hope to be a good writer someday. Fanfiction is actually how I got into writing and haven't stopped since. I may seem bad now, but let me tell you, if I were to post "A date with destiny" my first ever fanfiction (Phoenix/Maya of course), you'd see that I have come a long way. Oh dear, does anyone actually read this? This before-hand ramble is nearly as long as the chapter, so let's get on with it! :) **

**Eighteen **

"Sooooo..." I say, stringing the words out as we walk in through the front door. The taxi drive over here was horrible silent; neither of us spoke and all that was exchanged was the odd glance when we thought the other might not be looking. "You okay?" I ask, trying to sound casual, "You haven't said anything in a while."

She shrugs and drops her bag on to the sofa, not looking at me, "So? Neither have you."

I open my mouth to speak, but chicken out. It's blatant that things are awkward because of what had just happened at the concert. Someone's going to have to mention it eventually. _Still,_ I think to myself, _does it really have to be me?_

"Look, about what happened-"

Maya still fails to look at me and seems to be incredibly interested in taking her earrings out, as I make my way over to the couch. Her back's to me now, but I can see her reflection in the mirror. I don't dare attempt eye contact, though.

"You don't need to- I'm sorry. It was a bad idea- I'm an idiot for even...urgh, I don't even want to say it."

"I don't understand what you mean." I say, an eyebrow raised. Was that her idea? Frankly, I wasn't sure who it was who leaned in first. Did it automatically make it her fault because she said all those things? It was her who suggested we dance together. All the same, knowing I feel the way I do, I should definitely be taking some of the blame for this.

I shake my head and look at my hands, playing with them nervously, "It wasn't your fault; I certainly played a part and for what it's worth, if the song hadn't ended then-"

"Don't say it." she says, turning around quickly and finally looking at me, "I don't want to know. It's not that I don't want- I mean, we can't and that's that." She's playing with her hands too and walking over to her room, she turns around again, "If it were just a matter of feelings, then … it'd be fine, but under the circumstances . . . it's probably the worst idea that either of us have ever had. Ever." she adds. "Goodnight, Nick." and we with that she heads into her room, shutting the door behind her.

I'm half grateful she's gone. Who knew a conversation with _Maya_ could be that intense?

I stand up slowly and head over to the kitchen; I decide I'll get myself a glass of water before heading off to my room, like Maya did only moments ago.

She has a point. _Okay, so maybe I've been having these feelings for the last day and a bit, __but is that any reason to throw away our friendship? Look how awkward things have become, just from one almost-kiss; do you want to have this situation only far, far worse?_

But nothing I think makes any difference; bottom line is, I'm disappointed and there's nothing I can do to stop that fact. I can tell myself I'm not and completely ignore every feeling and thought in my head, but nothing will actually change the fact that I'm sad.

I'm sad that nothing _has _and most likely never _will_ happen with her.

I grab a glass, fill it to near the brim and place the water at the side of the sink, before running my hands through my hair and groaning with frustration. I literally can't think about anything other than her now. I don't even touch my water. Why did I even run the tap? The glass sits idly by the sink as I stare at the tarnished stainless steel for a moment and wonder how I could have been so stupid to let things come this far.

But then I turn around.

She's standing in the door-way, looking almost as though she'd in a trance. Her eyes baring into my own. One arms loosely holding on door-frame and the other's dangling down listlessly. She doesn't brake the contact even though her eyes have filled with tears, causing me to spring into action.

Quickly making my way over she approaches me and too and soon we're standing only inches apart and there's such a look of tenderness in her eyes that I still can't bare to look away because it's telling me everything I need to know about how she's feeling right now. I can almost understand why she trailed off earlier; maybe she couldn't put it into words? I know I couldn't.

She wants this as much as I do and I can't even explain why I want this all of a sudden. The feelings are sudden and yet something tells me they're going to hang around for a while.

I want her . . .

And she wants me . . .

_This is so simple. All I need to do is lean in . . . _

_ SIMPLE? HOW IS THIS SIMPLE YOU IDIOT?_

_ She's your best friend and she's moving back home tomorrow. Bleh, who are you kidding? THIS is her home, not Kurain._

Every inch of my conscience now proceeds to tell me this isn't a good idea and yet I'm not listening, I'm too busy staring down into those beautiful eyes, full of a terrified longing.

Before I even realise what's happening it's already happened. One of us leaned in, perhaps it was both of us? But that's not important. All I know is we're kissing, long wonderful kisses, full of passion and pent up frustration that I don't think either of us knew we had until yesterday. We fight for dominance and I somehow find time to be surprised about this; I'd never have imagined her to be so forceful and strong in a situation and yet the use of the word "imagined" implies I actually gave some thought to this before recent times.

She's so beautiful. I want every bit of her and my hands are getting lost in her hair as she falls against the wall I pull my arms up to place them flat against the surface while she grabs the back of my head, not once taking her lips away from mine.

Time passes and yet we don't lose any momentum, her tugging at my clothes; first the tie and before I know it everything else's gone too. And then we're in my bedroom and I'm searching for the light-switch with one hand, the other focused on pulling off the beautiful dress that she's had on all evening.

And then as suddenly as it begins, it seems to be over and I'm lying there, my arm around her bare neck and she's asleep, or at least pretending to be. I'm grateful, because it means I don't have to pretend I am, for the sake of awkwardness.

It will be awkward, won't it? Maybe this wouldn't be so weird if one of us had been harbouring a secret love for the other for months, but I'm certain we haven't. We're just two friends who saw each other in a different light and were brave, or even stupid, enough to act on it.

I shut my eyes and take a breath, taking in her scent. It's oddly soothing and would definitely be enough to calm me in other circumstances. But she is beautiful and I knew, or maybe just hoped this would happen eventually. After the dance it had only been a matter of time. I let myself slide down my pillow, trying to re-asses how much of a big deal this is.

_ Things aren't as bad as you think they are, Phoenix. You're just friends who- No wait, that's not right._

Friends who slept together? Have I been seeing her a friend until now?

_Yes._

Do I see her as just a friend now?

But then I realise, it doesn't matter whether I have feelings for her or not. She's leaving and I feel a stab of pain as I realise this is just one more thing I can't act on in good conscience. Of course I love her and whether that's as a friend or more, I still want her to stay with me forever.

I run a hand down my face in frustration and anger. I'm so sick of not being about to tell her how I feel for whatever reason. It's ridiculous that ever since the other day at the table I've wanted to tell her not to go and yet for multiple reasons I have to sit here and be supportive of a decision which is currently emotionally ripping me to shreds.

I have way too much on my mind to sleep and yet I can't get out of bed in case she's not really asleep and thinks I'm hot-footing it away now that the deed is done. Funny thing is, I'm not going anywhere. She is. Given the choice, while it sounds hopelessly clichéd, I'd stay here forever if I could. But I can't.

_Nothing stays the same. I have to let her go._

I lie there for what seems like hours, unable to sleep until finally I fall into a light and uneasy slumber and I dream of waking up to an empty bed. But the next morning she's still there, curled up on the opposite side of the bed. She must've pulled away from me at some point in the night and yet really, we're closer to each other than we've ever been.

Too bad she's leaving later.

_Oh, the irony._


	19. The morning after

**Thanks Naoko Suki for the kind review – nearly at the end now! :) And also thanks to thecardboardunicorn; you'll have your results by now, so hope you did well! :) Also, thank you Scaler24 – glad you're enjoying it! **

**No mini-essay this time; here's the next chapter and sorry if it's kinda short, aha. **

** Nineteen**

The next morning when I wake, Maya's not there. The bed feels empty and a little cold, which is odd, because always sleep in this bed on my own and it doesn't usually feel this way. I sit up very quickly, suddenly terrified that she'll already have left. What if she couldn't face me and just left leaving little more that a note.

I quickly calm down though as I think I can hear her bustling around in the kitchen, but less so that normal, as she usually has the radio on. Getting up and pulling on a pair of crinkled pyjamas that previously lay on my bedroom carpet, I head out there, bracing myself for one seriously awkward discussion.

She's putting her cereal bowl on the side and running some water to wash up, but quickly turns as I enter. It's oddly reminiscent of last night, only our places were switched. I blush; some of the sexual tension's gone, but even this has my adrenaline pumping. This situations unsettlingly intense.

"Good morning," I say, casually heading over to the cupboard to get myself some cereal. I immediately start pouring myself a bowl.

"Hey, morning." she says, making obvious effort to match my casual tone, but failing a her words are too rushed. She carried on washing up anyway.

I nod, not really concentrating on what I'm doing, which doesn't pay off as I realise I've poured myself way too much cereal and now will have to put some back; _smooth, Phoenix._

"The err, train leaves at half eleven, so I'll have to go in about fifteen minutes." I can tell she's trying to sound neutral, but it's not convincing. She's probably feeling as uncomfortable as I am, if not more so.

I pause and go and sit at the table, "That's fine . . . but before you go, at some point we have to talk about last-"

"Nick, about that-"

_Here we go..._ I can practically hear the words before she says them.

"It was such an irresponsible thing to do- it selfish of me, considering the circumstances-"

_Not these "Circumstances" she keeps talking about again..._

"Regardless of how I feel, it's not a good idea . . . is it?"

Finally she's stopped washing up and has actually turned around and faced me, gently leaning against the basin and watching me eat.

I don't say anything for a while. I'm not sure if this is because I don't know what to say, or because I don't actually want to say what I'm thinking.

_ "Last night was . . . strange for me and no doubt for you too, but I'm not going to sit here and pretend it was a meaningless fling, even if it would make things a lot easier."_

Of course, actually saying that, is another matter. I can't do it, so instead I just say;

"Whatever you think is best, Maya. It's up to you." It takes every ounce of my being not to sound bitter or cold and I think I manage to hide my true feelings relatively well, as she doesn't look particularly hurt.

But then her lips quiver and a few years roll down her face, "I'm going to miss you, Nick. You know If I could have my way-"

I almost flinch, _"If I could have my way?"_ She could have her way; it's simple, she could just stay. _She obviously doesn't want "her way" all that much_, I think, bitterly.

"I know... I'll miss you too. Maybe you could visit from time to time. I'd love to see Pearls still." It's like we're breaking up or something, yet we were never actually together. This is messed up. I don't even sound like myself. I wonder what on earth I'm playing at. Why aren't I yelling at her and telling her not to leave? So much of me wants to, but my pride's telling me that if she wanted to stay, she'd stay...

"Of course, definitely." she says, bottom lip quivering a little. For a second I think she's going to break down into a full-on sobbing fit, but she holds her chin steadily, "I have a bit of packing left to do..." and with that she walks across the lounge area and into her room.

Trying to repress my irritation I rise and tip away the remainder of my breakfast into the bin, no longer hungry. Why is she being like this? I've never know her to be so infuriating; she's choosing to do something she doesn't want, but putting it under the pretence of being forced into it.

She's _choosing_ not to be with me. It hurts deep down in the pit of my stomach, because I'd do anything to be with her...I _have_ done everything to be with her. I ran across a bridge, I defended her in court countless times and-

But then I cut off my thoughts. Those actions; they weren't about love. Well, they were, but not _that_ kind of love. She's my friend; I'd do that for any of my friends and it's unfair of my to say she hasn't done enough in that context. If it were a case of saving my life, or stopping me from being sent to prison, she'd be right there were I needed her. This isn't like that...

All the same, I know I could never walk out that door the way she's about to.

Perhaps it's for the best? That conversation wasn't normal for us, after all. It's crazy to think that only yesterday we were chatting and laughing at breakfast time. Maybe we both need some space? _This could be for the best_, I muse, but it's an unconvincing muse.

Ten minutes later she pulls a suitcase out of her room and drags it over to the door.

"Do you need a lift to the station?" I say, half hoping she'll say no.

She shakes her head, "No, it's fine, I've already called a taxi." walking over to me she wraps her arms around my neck and hugs me being surprisingly direct all things considered. She clings on for about a minute, giving me lively big whiff of her hair, which is exactly what I _don't_ need right now. I just want to kiss her, but lately I've been wanting to do a lot of things I haven't been able to do, so I'm quite the pro at ignoring my own inclinations.

When we break apart she whispers, "I'm sorry, I have to do this."

And it riles me because she honestly doesn't.

"Please don't say anything, you'll set me off."

There isn't anything to say, but I have to work with what I'm given. "Well, goodbye then." my voice is ever so slightly brusque. I sound stiff and forced for a reason.

There's a hint of something in her eyes that tells me my tone upsets her, but it can't be half the upset I'm feeling.

"Bye..." she attempts a smile, standing listlessly in front of me for a moment before finally heading outside, pulling her suitcase behind her. I shut the door prematurely, not particularly wanting to watch her get into the taxi.

_ Well, I guess that's that..._I think. Inside my head, I'm falsely breezy.

She's gone.


	20. The only exception

**Hey guys, it's a short one...and lyrics heavy. I do love put lyrics into my fanfiction...:) Thank you scaler24, Naoko Suki and Shizuka Ayasato for your lovely reviews. :) Onto the story...**

**Twenty**

About five minutes later it hits me that I didn't think she'd actually go through with it. Subconsciously, I've been expecting her to change her mind and realise that she shouldn't. The flat feels empty and dull. I've been alone here so many times, but that was different; temporary. This isn't temporary. This is the new normal.

_This is the beginning of the rest of your life, Phoenix._

Trying to shake this thought off, I stand up and walk over to the kitchen area.

_Maybe some music will cheer me up? _I think, turning the dial around as I switch it on. Every time I change stations it makes an irritating buzzing noise before changing the song. I grab a cloth from the basin and start wiping crumbs of the side listening to the melancholy tune that reaches my ears.

_ "-and I'll keep up with our old friends_

_ Just to ask them how you are... _

_ Hope it's nice where you are..._

_ And I hope the sun shines and it's a beautiful day_

_ And something reminds you_

_ You wish you had stayed_

_ You can plan for a change in the weather and time_

_ But I never planned on you changing your mind _

_ So I'll go-"_

Cringing and pondering the fact that, typically, the first song on the radio would be quite possibly the most depressing song I've ever heard in my entire life, I decide I might change stations. After all, I practically flinched at the line "You wish you had stayed". I turn the dial again, hoping to find something a little less relevant.

_ Btzzzt . . ._

_ It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now_

_ Said I wouldn't call, but-_

I groan. Third time lucky?

_ Btzzzt . . . _

_ But every now and then I fall apart_

_ And I need you now tonight_

_ And I need you more than ever_

_ And we'll only be making it right_

_ Cause we'll never be-_

_ Btzzt . . . _

_ Oh, I can live without you but_

_ Without you I'll be miserable at best-_

_ Bzzt..._

_ I swear that you don't have to go_

_ I thought we could wait for the fireworks_

_ I thought-_

_ This is absurd. Is it national-depressing pop song day or something? _

I sigh and accept the fact that my radio clearly hates me, or at the least the people who chose the songs do. I haven't heard "total eclipse of the heart" played on that particular station in years.

And yet this is always the way that it is. When something like this happens everything reminds you of it, whether it's a television program or a song. Were the songs _that _relevant, or is it in my head? Am I looking for signs wherever I might find them?

That being said, I think about the songs which just played and come to conclusion I'm not paranoid; they were all weirdly relevant.

I decide to have one last ditch attempt at finding something cheery to listen to. I listen hard, accepting that I'm looking for some kind of sign. There's no use denying it . . .

_ You are the only exception . . ._

And then there's an instrumental for a while. It doesn't sound like the happiest of songs, but it'll do, so I listen on.

_ I've got a tight grip on reality, but I can't_

_ Let go of what's in front of me here_

_ I know you're leaving in the morning, when you wake up_

_ Just leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream _

_ Whoa-oh-oh_

_ Typical; it's so bloody relevant. _

Maya's an exception. I never even considered having an assistant before she turned up at the office that terrible day.

I'm not exactly a cynic, but I've never been looking for any of this. It snook up on me and I realised she was the one I wanted and still do _want._

Maya was standing right in front of me earlier, saying goodbye and I didn't ask her to stay.

So she left this morning.

I know it's not a dream, though. This is all too real and I've spent far too much of my time wondering "what if...".

This ends now. I need an answer and I _think_ I'm about to go and get one.


	21. Don't go

**Argh, this slipped my mind completely. I meant to update AGES ago so I'm sorry everyone! Shizuka Ayasato the songs (in order) were _"Last kiss – Taylor Swift", "Need you now – Lady Antebellum", "Total eclipse of the heart – Bonnie Tyler", "Miserable at best – Mayday parade", "Three cheers for five years – Mayday parade"_ and obviously _"The only exception – Paramore"_ (I know you knew two of them, but thought I'd chuck all of them in anyway). Also, glad scaler24 andGeorgiexxxSaurez are enjoying this. It's nearly over; my God it's taken me over a year to publish all of this, only a few to go now. :) Enjoy! **

** Twenty-one **

I can barely believe I'm doing this and yet I'm out of the door in minutes. It's literally a case of grabbing my keys, finding my phone and leaving to wave over a taxi. I have to catch her.

And yet in the taxi I start to panic.

Am I making the right choice?

If she wants to leave, who am I to stop her?

Just because we slept together, I can't assume she'd want anything more; wouldn't she have stayed if she did? And anyway, a relationship is so much more than sex. We'd be risking everything and possibly lose everything we've built up in the last three years.

What on earth am I going to say to her?

I take a deep breath in the vague hope of relieving the stress. The taxi driver gives me an odd look, which is hardly surprising considering I've been practically hyper-ventilating for the last few minutes. A shaky feeling takes on my body; it would be excitement was I not so nervous and completely and utterly anxious. Is this the time for a long drawn out speech, or is it just a moment where I should express my feelings in the simplest way possible?

I need to be blunt with her – to lay all my cards out on the table.

And okay, so maybe if she doesn't feel what I feel, we _don't_ start a relationship? And maybe things are a little awkward for a while, but I know we'd get back to normal eventually...if I'm not what she wants, it's fine . . . right?

And then I'm finally there at the station, still as anxious as ever, slightly sweaty and breathless and trying to work out at which point I changed. When did I realise how I felt? Was it the moment I questioned the nature of our relationship? Was it the moment I realised a life without Maya is a downright boring one? Or was it the moment we almost kissed last night.

It's sudden, I guess. Completely and utterly ridiculous. The idea that a few days ago she was just "Maya". Category-less. I didn't fancy her, I didn't _not _fancy her. She was just there; my friend, my partner, through thick and thin and I _know _I'd do anything to protect her.

I think she knows it too.

I quickly make my way to the platform and stare around manically. I have to catch her, I just have to...

Sure, I could ring her when she gets there, but romance isn't dead yet. Chasing her through a train station seems like a much better story. Something to tell the kids...and suddenly I'm thinking about kids. Uh, yeah, maybe we'll take it one step at a time...

I'm searching for her. I see her everywhere, every swish of dark hair, every purple top and every oddly dressed woman.

And I can't help but question one more time . . .

_How did we get here? _

The question flows though my mind and I can't help but wonder it as my eyes meet hers at a distance, long ebony hair falling down her back and grey eyes swimming with tears. To me, she's never looked more beautiful.

Those eyes were the second thing I saw that fateful day we met. It seems like everything has changed. Her eyes haven't though. Though they were sad, it detracted nothing from their utter beauty. They were still breath-taking, but now I feel a different kind of heaviness in my heart. The day we met, the first thing I saw was Mia's dead body. This time, it was a suitcase.

There are people everywhere. Busy with their lives; saying hello, saying good bye. Today, I didn't plan on saying either of those things. I know exactly why I'm here and I stride over to her, not breaking eye-contact at all. Hoping I look more confident than I feel, I grab her hand and stand close to her, our bodies almost touching.

"Maya-"

"Nick?"

" . . . Don't go." I whisper.

_ Please don't go._

**Urgh, I'll have to go take a bath now. Wash off the stench of cliché that's clinging to me right now. I do love romantic drivel though. :')**


	22. The decision

**AHHH, THE FINAL CHAPTER. Sorry this is such a gap! First week of uni this week and I'd just forgotten until then. Thanks Scaler24, Shizuka Ayasato and BannanMilkshake97 for your reviews and thanks to everyone who's reviewed overall for the story. It sure has been a romantic and clichéd ride! Hope everyone's enjoyed this and likes the conclusion! :) **

** Twenty-two**

"Nick-" she starts again, staring up into my eyes, apparently unable to look away as we've not broken eye-contact once. The intensity of this is enough to make me blush, which I do.

Then I swallow back the huge amount of saliva which has amalgamated inside my mouth and repeat myself. And them some.

"Don't go. Look, I know this is complicated, but I don't want you to leave, all right? And I know it's not up to me and I'm being insanely selfish here, but I've kept my mouth shut for too long."

She blinks slightly, and bites her lip a little, finally looking away and stepping back slightly. I'm still catching my breath and somehow, this adds to the urgency of the situation.

"I don't know..." she says. She sounds tired, exhausted actually. I suppose it's been a pretty stressful few days.

"I know you don't, but I know on your behalf that you don't want to, Maya, not deep down. Look me in the eye and tell me you want to go and I'll book you a new ticket right now, but I know you won't be able to so just _stay_."

She shakes her head, "I have responsibilities and-"

"Oh come on, they can find another Master, surely! What about Pearl?" I say, cutting across her, tired of the old "I have no choice excuse".

"She's ten!" Maya retorts, quickly and fiercely. She thinks I don't understand. Thing is, I probably understand better than she does.

I shrug, "So? She's great at channelling! It's not even like work to her. Come on, Maya, I've sat here and listened to you talk like this and I've been biting my tongue ever since you announced you were leaving and-"

She looks at me as though longing for me to finish.

It's time for me to step up.

"-And that's because I was so sure that anything I said would be stopping you from doing what was right in your eyes- what was right for _you_. I didn't want to be selfish – to tell you to stay for my sake..." I pause and run my hands through my hair. "But _this _isn't right for either of us! I don't want you to leave and you know that- it's to be expected. I mean, you're great, you help out, you're funny and you're beautiful." she smiles slightly at this and despite myself I grin, sheepishly. She's looked a little more receptive after I call her funny and beautiful, but she still doesn't look sure. "But I have responsibilities at-"

I hold my hand up in the hair as an indication she should be quiet, "No. No more of that, okay? We'll work through all that responsibilities stuff together, here. _Everything. _Pearl, the elders, your job. Can we just forget about that and concentrate on what we've found in the past few days; focus on us?"

She looks stressed at this and plays with one of the beads at the end of her hair, "What exactly is this, Nick?"

I shrug, "I have no idea. We're not friends and we're not exactly lovers..."

She winces, "I hate that word."

"Fine, I_'_m not your boyfriend then, but I do have feelings for you...and I think we both know leaving now would be a huge mistake."

I can tell she's wavering and in my heart I actually dare to hope that maybe, just maybe she's considering it. She's a least smiling a bit, but then again, she's also crying slightly. I take her hand and step a little closer to her.

"So?" I probably shouldn't push her, but the suspense is getting to me.

She half smiles, looking as though she's on the fence, "There wouldn't be any pressure or anything?" she questions me; perhaps this is the deciding vote for her?

I shake my head, "None. Just two friends getting to know one another."

"Well..." she pauses and looks down, obviously trying to suppress a grin, "We wouldn't have to go_ that_ slowly..."

I raise my eyebrows, "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." and she's staring at me in a familiar way, kind of like she did last night, only she looks more certain that last time.

We both head for the kiss at the same time. I'm glad. In fact, I'm over the moon; I think this means she's staying, so obviously there had to be a kiss. All love stories end with a kiss.

I'm not saying this is a love story, because all love stories have an end and frankly...

Well, I hope this lasts forever.

** So...much...fluff. Eeugh. Thanks again everyone! **


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